Gundam SEED: Divisions
by ZAFT Convoy
Summary: Peace is shattered by a new conflict. But from this conflict, an old legacy shall arise with aid from forces acting behind the scenes. War has more than two sides, which both sides learn about the hard way. Conflict between Naturals and Coordinators is not yet over, but time will only tell if that is true. KxL, AxC, HxL, OCxOC, OCxOC, FxOC, DxM, MxM, SxS. Read and review! Reposted!
1. MS Specs

**Here is the repost of my epic series, Gundam SEED: Divisions! :3 Starting with the MS profiles no less.**

**Note:**** I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam.**

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Gundam Seed: Divisions

Mobile Suit Specs:

"_I will not allow anyone to suffer the way she did again!"_ Akira Nishikama

Mobile Suit Serial Number: ORB-04-A Wing

Unit Type: Prototype High-Maneuverability Transformable Mobile Gundam Unit

Power-plant Type: 2 ultra-compact battery units

Special Equipment: Phase Shift Armor

Weapons: Hellfire mini-missiles (dual launchers hidden on back end of vehicle form), x2 "Seikokatsu" beam sabers (on hips), x2 "Taiyou-ko" katana wing-blades (space combat only), 1 dual 74mm hyper velocity beam rifle, 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm anti-air vulcan gun

Alternate mode: Hellfire mini-missiles, "Taiyou-ko" wing-blades (vehicle form), 2x 30mm vulcan guns, one per wing.

Pilot: Akira Nishikama

Colors: White majority, with blue and yellow chest, blue feet bottoms, and black top on the wings

Info: The Wing was the tenth G-weapon to be finished, being a joint project between ORB and NASA. As a result of this, the Wing is a high-maneuverability Gundam capable of turning into an aircraft capable of the same maneuverability level. Originally supposed to be the first, it was put on hold due to the Striker packs. As a result, the Wing was actually completed the day of the attack on Heliopolis. Very few have survived the attacks by this machine intact…

Author's Notes: Like Akatsuki_Leader13 in Gundam SEED: A Retelling, I wanted a speed-type Mobile Suit, but one that was different as well. So, I decided on the Murasame as the basic form, and took it from there. One major difference is in the back-pack, as it houses the missile launchers for the mini-missiles as well as the engines for flight. But, unlike its counterpart in SEED: A Retelling, the Wing has two battery units, which allow for the speed. The beam rifle has its own power source, thus keeping the battery units from being drained. Same with the beam sabers. This allows for the first battery unit to be used for the Phase Shift as well as the missile launchers, and the second unit to be used for the speed. But, just like its counterpart in SEED: A Retelling, it lacks a shield, but for a different reason. The shield would slow down the Wing's speed, and ultimately leave the machine with a heavier weight that allowed. The Wing is also designed for close-range combat, due to it having four swords as well.

"_The ruler of the deep has arrived!"_ Tao White

Mobile Suit Serial Number: GAT-X308 Diver

Unit Type: Underwater Combat Submarine Mobile Suit

Power-plant Type: 2 ultra-compact battery units

Special Equipment: Hydro-propulsion units for underwater combat/Lightwave pulse thrusters.

Weapons: "Firewaves" prototype underwater battle staff, dual underwater "Gunken" missile launchers, dual "Danketsu" underwater Gatling guns

Submarine Weapons: Dual underwater "Gunken" missile launchers, dual "Danketsu" underwater Gatling guns

Pilot: Tao White

Colors: Blue-grey majority, grey and black chest, black feet bottoms.

Info: An underwater Gundam, this unit was the developed to counter ZAFT's underwater units. The Diver can transform into a submarine form for more maneuverability, as it is made for underwater fighting. It can avoid most units due to its blue color scheme, making it hard to spot when in the water. Tao White steals this unit when Heliopolis is attacked.

Author's Notes: I wanted an underwater unit like the Abyss in SEED Destiny, as it would provide more potential for the story to grow. And so, the Diver came about. Originally it was to be the main unit of NASA, but in the end, I decided to go with one unit that is a part of the GAT-X series.

Mobile Suit Serial Number: NAS-X110-A Traverse

Unit Type: Land Combat Tank Mobile Suits

Power-plant Type: 2 ultra-compact battery units

Special Equipment: Impact Absorbent treads, shocks, and frame

Weapons: "Liberty" 65mm beam cannon, "Minshushugi" anti-mobile armor missile rockets, x2 "Variable" beam-sabers, head-mounted 50mm Gatling guns

Tank Weapons: "Liberty" 65mm beam cannon, "Minshushugi" anti-mobile armor missile rockets

Colors: Green and brown camouflage coloring

Info: To counteract the idea of getting rid of tanks and using mobile armors, NASA came up with these ingenious Gundams. Capable of turning into tanks, they are the alternative to mobile armors and they do not waste three lives. Each one requires only one pilot, not three like the mobile armors. These machines are very durable, capable of surviving a drop from great heights, hence why they are used as the main units of the ground forces of NASA. But as a price for their great durability, these machines are left vulnerable when turning from tank form to its Gundam form. To make up for this, NASA uses these units in tandem with the Murasames and Astrays from ORB. A favorite move of these pilots is to move the tank while turning to Gundam form to escape harm, or to slice off the legs of the enemy units, due to the tank treads being on the backs of these units.

Author's Notes: Unlike most Earth Alliance nations, which use Mobile Armors instead of Mobile Suits, I wanted NASA to keep around the idea of the tank. But at the same time, NASA needed to be able to keep up with the arms race against ZAFT and the PLANTs, even though the nations support each other. So, I came up with the Traverse Gundams as a result. These machines were an easy thing to think up. Unfortunately, they are only used by the ground forces of NASA.

"_The Z.A.M. Gundam rules any terrain!"_ Nisha Itsuno

Mobile Suit Serial Number: NAS-X117-A Z.A.M. Gundam

Unit Type: Heavy Weapons and Defense Mobile Suit

Power-plant Type: Ultra-compact Battery Unit

Special Equipment: Phase Shift Armor

Weapons: "Heaven's Fire" Shoulder Missile Launchers, "Hidden Fury" Leg Missile Launchers, x2 "Variable" beam sabers, "Heat Storm" Chest Missile Launchers, "Heat Tracer" shoulder beam cannons.

Pilot: Nisha Itsuno

Colors: Black majority, red trim and grey chest, blue feet bottoms

Info: Z.A.M. means "Zeroing Artillery Missile". This Gundam, called "Wing's Twin" was developed at the same time as the Wing. Both were completed the day Heliopolis was attacked. The two machines are also known as "the Gundam Twins" due to this very reason. A heavy-firepower machine, the Z.A.M. Gundam is slow-moving due to the heaviness of the armaments. As a result, it is equipped with a strong shield. But even this could not protect the machine alone. Therefore, the Z.A.M. Gundam is used in tandem with the Wing Gundam. The high speed and high maneuverability of the Wing allow it to defend the Z.A.M. Gundam from most attacks. Of course, that does not mean that the Z.A.M. Gundam is slower than most machines…

Author's Notes: I wanted there to be ten machines, and I already had nine, but I also wanted the Wing to have a long-range machine to back it up. The Buster was out of the question because it had flight capabilities, so I created the Z.A.M. Gundam. This one was easy to think up, as it is the slowest of all the machines. So, I paired the fastest with the slowest. The Z.A.M. Gundam lacks the necessary engines for full flight in an atmosphere, so it cannot fly when on Earth. With the Buster specializing in anti-armor and heavy-weapons countering, I decided the Z.A.M. Gundam should be an anti-fleet type, so as a result, it has shoulder beam-cannons to wipe out enemy ships in addition to its main missile armament. But, due to the weight of the weapons, it needed protection of some kind, so I gave it a shield.

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"_Raven huh? Well, let's see what this thing can do."_ Chris Dante.

Mobile Suit Serial Number: GAT-X305 'Raven'  
Unit Type: Prototype attack use transformable mobile suit  
Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery  
Special Equipment: Phase Shift Armor  
Armament: 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm anti-air vulcan gun, 2x beam saber (mounted on the hips), 1x dual 52mm hyper velocity shield cannon (usable in both modes)  
Mobile Armor Mode Armament: 2x "Ahura Mazda" short-range energy cannon, 2x M2M3 76mm machinegun  
Pilot: Christopher Dante  
Appearance: Appearance wise, it resembles the Raider Full Spec, save it possess the Raider's dual shield cannon and the additional thrusters on the back of the legs.  
Colors: Primary midnight blue with red trim. White thighs, biceps, and face.  
Info: The Raven is the predecessor to the GAT-333 Raider Full Spec and the technologically superior GAT-X370 'Raider'. Originally, it was suppose to the second last G-Weapon to be completed in Heliopolis. But due to an accident early in its construction, it was almost scrapped altogether, but ultimately it was completed the day before the attack on Heliopolis. As a result of this, Rau Le Creuset and the team he sent to Heliopolis were completely unaware of its construction and completion. Like the Raider and the Raider Full Spec, the Raven can transform into a bird-like Mobile Armor and can double as an atmospheric flight platform for other Mobile Suits.

Author's Notes: This unit was developed by Akatsuki_Leader 13 for his OC, Chris Dante. It is used with his permission.

"_I have to say, I think I'm in love."_ Saul Kessel

Mobile Suit Serial Number: GAT-X204 'Surge'  
Unit Type: Prototype high-speed attack mobile suit  
Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery  
Special Equipment: Phase Shift Armor  
Armament: 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm anti-air vulcan gun, 1x "Hakenfaust" piercer lock (triple claw), 1x DES-G07D+ long anti-armor sword, DES-G07D+ short anti-armor sword, 1x 55mm high-energy beam rifle  
Pilot: Saul Kessel  
Appearance: The Surge resembles the Blitz, save it lacks the shield/weapon unit on the right arm of the Blitz and has additional thrusters mounted on its back.  
Color: Dark green with blue trim.  
Info: The Surge is the fastest of all of G-Weapons that had been built at Heliopolis and is the sister unit to the Blitz. The Surge was designed for high-speed and melee combat and tactics. Although it is easily one of the fastest Mobile Suits ever designed, it tends to drain its battery faster than the other G-Weapons, if it overuses its high speed capabilities.

Author's Notes: This is the unit that inspired me to develop the Wing, although there are several differences, mainly in the weapons. This is an awesome unit, so I wanted there to be a rival unit to it, and I already had the Wing, so it is a nice matchup. With the Wing's four swords, the Surge has a very well-rounded rival.

Mobile Suit Serial Number: ZGMF-1017-MX GINNs

Unit Type: Highly customized high mobility Mobile Suits

Power-plant: Ultra-compact battery units

Special equipment: Lightwave pulse thrusters

Armaments: Varies among 7th Mobile Fleet members

Pilots: Members of 7th Mobile Fleet

Appeaerance: Same as GINN High Maneuver type

Colors: Varies among pilots, but all GINNs of the 7th Mobile Fleet have a blue mono-eye optic instead of the pink one used by ZAFT units.

Info: These units are the machines of the famed 7th Mobile Fleet. Highly customized and high-speed machines, these GINNs are superior to their standard counterparts. Only the pilots and mechanics of the fleet know what modifications are installed within their machines. While some modifications are legal, others are not so much and that is one of the reasons they are so secretive about their machines. Only two prototypes given to the squadron survive, one being Heidi's 'Feral Femme', the other being Josh's 'Silent Sinper'.

Ship: Nazca-class Destroyer

Type: Battleship

Power-plant: 4X MPD Thrusters, 8x MPD Thrusters

Armaments: 2 x 177cm High-Energy Beam Cannon, 2 x 250mm Dual High-Energy Beam Cannon, 10 x 58mm CIWS, 5 x 450mm Multipurpose Vertical Launch System

Info: Used by the 7th and 11th Fleets, the _Nazca_-class ships acquired by each fleet have been modified to suit their needs, but out of all the ZAFT ships, only the three _Nazca_-class of the 7th Fleet are able to withstand atmospheric entry due to a modified version of the E-Carbon armor and stronger engines than regulations will allow. This allows them to perform missions on Earth as well as in space, making them the ideal team to fight the Earth Alliance on multiple fronts.

"_Weapons? Who needs weapons? All that I need is a few knives and no one can live."_ Heidi Matthews.

Mobile Suit Serial Number: ZGMF-1017MX GINN High Maneuver Type Custom 'Feral Femme'

Unit Type: Customized high mobility mobile suit

Power-plant: Ultra-compact battery unit

Special Equipment: Lightwave pulse thrusters

Armament: 2x forearm mounted fold-out knives, 1x MMI-M8A3 76mm heavy assault machine gun, 2x leg mounted fold-out knives, 1x 76mm sniper rifle (optional), additional equipment may vary

Appearance: Same as GINN High Maneuver Type

Pilot: Heidi Matthews

Colors: Light grey with red lines on forearms, shins, and right leg of the machine, white teeth painted on the area under the mono-eye, a set of white teeth on the chest.

Info: A close range fighter, Heidi replaced the standard sword of her GINN with a set of forearm and leg mounted fold-out knives. She would rather toss aside her rifle and attack mobile armors with her knives than fire on them from a distance.

"_Silent but deadly. That is how I like it."_ Josh Ajaxi on his machine.

Mobile Suit Serial Number: ZGMF-1017MX GINN High Maneuver Type Custom 'Silent Sniper'

Unit Type: Customized high mobility mobile suit

Power-plant: Ultra-compact battery unit

Special equipment: Lightwave pulse thrusters

Armament: 1x MA-M3 heavy sword, 1x MMI-M8A3 76mm heavy assault machine gun, 1x GOUF standard shield, 1x 76mm sniper rifle (optional)

Appearance: Same as GINN High Maneuver Type

Pilot: Josh Ajaxi

Colors: Dark blue with white trim, red line on left forearm, two S's on the right shoulder.

Info: A skilled shooter, Josh Ajaxi outfitted his machine to be as silent as possible. This has resulted in him adding on suppressors to keep the sound of his machine's engines down to a minimum. The upgrades made his unit so silent, that in one early battle, he took down five enemy mobile armors in five shots. This earned his machine the nickname 'Silent Sniper' as a result.

"_I strike like lightning shooting down from the heavens above!"_ Araiya Wolfe.

Mobile Suit Serial Number: ZGMF-1017MX GINN High Maneuver Type 'Zeus'

Unit Type: Customized high mobility mobile suit

Power-plant: Ultra-compact battery unit

Special Equipment: Lightwave pulse thrusters

Armament: 1x MMI-M8A3 76mm heavy assault machine gun with built-in 178mm grenade launcher, 2x combat knives, 1x MA-M3 heavy sword, 1x 76mm sniper rifle (optional), additional weapons may vary

Pilot: Araiya Wolfe

Appearance: Same as GINN High Maneuver Type

Color: Plain grey with blue trim. A yellow lightning bolt on left shoulder, left forearm and hand painted dark blue

Info: The Zeus has the fewest upgrades among the fleet. Araiya Wolfe dislikes close-combat, but will prove to be a very deadly and skilled markswoman, mainly at medium to long-range, which is her preferred style of fighting. The machine was given its nickname after an early BV battle in which the left hand and forearm of her machine was blown off in combat. Rather than risk losing the battle, Wolfe took out the combat knives of her GINN and threw them through ten mobile armors, allowing the mission to succeed. Chang White named her machine after the Greek god of lightning and it has been called that ever since.

"_For the Black Hawk!"_ the 11th Fleet's motto

Mobile Suit Serial Number: ZGMF-1017MX GINN High Maneuver Type Custom  
Unit Type: Customized high mobility mobile suit  
Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery  
Special Equipment: Lightwave pulse thrusters  
Armament: A wide range weapons and armaments that varies between pilots  
Pilot: members of the 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet  
Appearance: same as the GINN High Maneuver Type  
Color: varies between machines, but all of the mobile suits of the 11th have a crimson monoeye instead of the pink one that normal ZAFT mobile suits have.  
Info: The mobile suit of the 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet. A high-speed and highly customized machine, these GINNs are superior to their standard counterparts. Only the pilots and mechanics of the 11th Fleet know what modifications have been installed in their machines. Some of these modifications are legal, others not so much, which is one of the reasons they are so secretive about their machines. It should be noted that two of the original prototypes survived from before the war. John Alaric's 'Farsight' and Lisa DeCosta's 'Lady Luck'. The Farsight was lost shortly after the death of Alaric, leaving the Lady Luck as the only ZGMF-1017MX Prototype left in service.

Author's Notes: I am adding in the 11th Fleet with Akatsuki_Leader 13's permission as it would provide more of a threat as well as the 7th Fleet. These two units are the most radical, yet most respected within ZAFT, hence the teamwork of the pilots of both teams.

"_Never falter, never waver, always victorious!"_ Diana Kessel.

Mobile Suit Serial Number: ZGMF-515X 'Panther Mk II'  
Unit Type: Customized high mobility commander type mobile suit  
Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery  
Special Equipment: Lightwave pulse thrusters  
Armament: 1x MA-MA4A heavy sword, 1x M7070 shield-plus 28mm vulcan system, 1x MMI-M7S 76mm heavy assault machingun, 1x 76mm sniper rifle (optional), additional weapons vary  
Pilot: Diana Kessel  
Appearance: same as a CGUE  
Color: Dark purple with black strips on the forearms and shins. White trim and a white roaring panther head on the right shoulder.  
Info: Diana's second 'Panther'. She received it after the death of Alaric and the original Panther, a GINN High Maneuver Type Custom, was shot down by the Earth Force's 'Hawk of Endymion', Mu La Flaga. She was the fifth mobile suit that Mu shot down at Endymion. Though she survived, she felt humiliated by being beaten by a single mobile armor and has vowed to defeat Mu La Flaga the next time they meet which has yet to happen. The members of the 11th Fleet consider La Flaga a doomed man for having the Bloody Panther after him. Overall, the Panther II is an extremely well-rounded and flexible machine.

Author's Notes: As stated before, all of these machines are used with Akatsuki_Leader13's permission.

"_Damn. Does that guy always have a stick up his ass?"_ Ajay to John Alaric after meeting Lucius Raveshaw for the first time.

Mobile Suit Serial Number: ZGMF-1017MX GINN High Maneuver Type Custom 'Tyr'  
Unit Type: Customized high mobility mobile suit  
Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery  
Special Equipment: Lightwave pulse thrusters  
Armament: 1x modified MMI-M8A3 76mm heavy assault machinegun with a mounted 175mm grenade launcher, 2x combat knives, 1x 76mm sniper rifle (optional), additional weapons vary  
Pilot: Lucius Raveshaw  
Appearance: same as the GINN High Maneuver Type  
Color: A rather plain dark green with gray trim. A black fist on the right shoulder. The right hand and forearm are painted black.  
Info: True to Raveshaw's beliefs, the Tyr has the fewest of upgrades among the machines of the 11th Fleet. Raveshaw, for the most part, dislikes close-combat but is an extremely skilled rifleman, particularly at medium to close range, often tearing apart enemies in a hail of expertly aimed bullets before they can strike. The machine was given its name after an early battle of the BV War where he lost the right hand and forearm of his machine. Rather than retreating and risk ruining his perfectly laid out plan, he used one of his GINN's combat knives to destroy seven mobile armors and insured the success of his plan. Afterwards, John Alaric named his mobile suit after the one-handed Norse God and it's been called that ever since.

"_He's wild, undisciplined, cocky, and the worst soldier I have ever met. That being said, he's easily one of our best. And if it wasn't for him, we probably wouldn't have survived Endymion." _Lucius Raveshaw on Ajay Cortez

Mobile Suit Serial Number: ZGMF-1017MX GINN High Maneuver Type Custom 'Hyena'  
Unit Type: Customized high mobility mobile suit  
Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery  
Special Equipment: Lightwave pulse thrusters  
Armament: 2x forearm mounted folding combat knife, 1x MMI-M8A3 76mm heavy assault machinegun, 1x 76mm sniper rifle (optional), additional weapons vary  
Pilot: Ajay Cortez  
Appearance: same as the GINN High Maneuver Type  
Color: Light brown with crimson claw marks on the forearms, shins and left shoulder of the machine. White teeth are painted along the area under the machine's monoeye and a trio of white teeth on the right shoulder  
Info: Favoring close-range tactics, Ajay replaced his mobile suit's sword with a pair of forearm mounted combat knives. He's prone to discarding his rifle in the middle of battle and tearing through enemy mobile armors with his knives.

"_Power crushes all!" _Basque Gideon

Mobile Suit Serial Number: ZGMF-1017MX GINN High Maneuver Type Custom 'Bruticus'  
Unit Type: Customized high mobility mobile suit  
Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery  
Special Equipment: Lightwave pulse thrusters  
Armament: 2x shoulder mounted Gatling gun, 2x M68 'Pardus' shin mounted 3-barrel missile launcher, 1x M69 'Barrus' heavy particle cannon  
Pilot: Basque Gideon  
Appearance: same as the GINN High Maneuver Type  
Color: Dark gray with black trim. A crimson fireball on the right shoulder.  
Info: Basque Gideon believes in raw strength and power ensures victory, and his mobile suit, Bruticus, reflects this belief. While others will use heavy weapons as secondary armaments for specific situations, Basque uses them as standard equipment. Although his machine isn't as fast as the GINNs of the 11th Fleet, he makes up for it in sheer firepower.

"_Luck is always on my side." _Lisa DeCosta

Mobile Suit Serial Number: ZGMF-1017MX GINN High Maneuver Type Custom 'Lady Luck'  
Unit Type: Customized high mobility mobile suit  
Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery  
Special Equipment: Lightwave pulse thrusters  
Armament: 1x MA-M3 heavy sword, 1x MMI-M8A3 76mm heavy assault machinegun  
Pilot: Lisa DeCosta  
Appearance: pretty much the same as the GINN High Maneuver Type  
Color: Dark green with crimson trim. A pair of red stylized L's on the right ahoulder.  
Info: This machine, like its pilot has had a bizarre history. When Lisa DeCosta was in the Academy, she proved herself to be an excellent pilot but seemed to be cursed with terrible luck. Though she always managed to complete and pass her tests and training missions, she frequently damaged or destroyed her mobile suits in the process, though always surviving virtually unscratched. At the same time, Commander John Alaric was difficulties with the prototype of future GINN High Maneuver Type Custom, resulting in the loss of several pilots and machines. The worst one, GINN High Maneuver Type Custom Prototype X-04, had seriously injured and killed several pilots while only suffering minor damage. This lead many to call it cursed. Alaric, having heard of the good but unlucky Lisa, had her assigned under his command and immediately gave her the unlucky X-04. The two seemed made for each other as her first test flight with the X-04 went off flawlessly, shocking many of the members of the 11th Fleet. In fact, the terrible luck of the two seemed to reverse. Not only that, but her good fortune spread to her squadmates, leading to a number of them miraculously surviving normally fatal situations. As a result of this, both her and her machine, the X-04, earned the nickname 'Lady Luck'.

"_Faster than lightning. Armor as weak as paper. It takes a special kind of crazy to pilot one of these machines. Luckily, we have three people crazy enough to pilot these things. Cause there's no way in Hell that anyone else would get those death traps."_ Ajax, on the GINN High Maneuver Type Custom Speartip Variant

Mobile Suit Serial Number: ZGMF-1017MX GINN High Maneuver Type Custom Speartip Variant  
Unit Type: Customized high mobility mobile suit  
Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery  
Special Equipment: Lightwave pulse thrusters  
Armament: 1x MA-M3 heavy sword (all), 1x MMI-M8A3 76mm heavy assault machinegun (Hilda), 1x 170mm anti-armor rocket-propelled grenade launcher (Mars), M68 'Cattus' 500mm recoilless rifle (Herbert)  
Pilot: Hilda Harken, Mars Simeon, Herbert Von Reinhardt  
Appearance: Same as the GINN High Maneuver Type  
Color: Black torso, hands, feet and head, dark purple shoulders, arms and legs. A black star on the right shoulder of each machine.  
Info: An offshoot of GINN High Maneuver Type Custom, designed to primarily be used for the infamous Speartip maneuver of the 11th Fleet. Only three were made and were given to the three best high-speed attackers in the 11th Fleet, Hilda Harken, Mars Simeon, and Herbert Von Reinhardt. Unlike the other GINNs of the 11th Fleet, they have larger batteries, increasing their range. But to accommodate the larger battery, their armor is thinner than other GINNs, making them extremely fragile, though faster and nimbler than other GINNs. In fact early in the war, a lucky shot on Hilda's GINN, resulted in severe damage to the machine and the loss of Hilda's right eye.  
Author's Notes: Any Gundam Seed fan should recognize the pilots of these machines.

"_All traitors deserve only one thing. Death."_ Zane Scirocco

Mobile Suit Serial Number: ZGMF-1017 Zane Scirocco Custom  
Unit Type: Custom general purpose mobile suit  
Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery  
Armament: 1x MA-M3 heavy sword, 1x shoulder mounted shield, 1x MMI-M8A3 76mm heavy assault machinegun  
Pilot: Zane Scirocco  
Appearance: A standard GINN with a shield mounted on the left shoulder  
Color: Entirely blood red  
Info: The mobile suit of the young pilot Zane Scirocco, protege of Rau La Creuset. Very little is known about Zane. But what is known is that he's a vicious and ruthless fighter. Doing anything and everything to kill his enemy and win. His ruthless and the color of his machine earned him the nickname 'the Bloody Ripper' from the Earth Forces.  
Author's Notes: Now this one took a surprising amount of time, despite the fact it's fairly simple. One thing that always bugged me about Seed was that they had one of the best Char clones yet he never once piloted a red mobile suit, unlike the other great Char clone, Zechs Merquise/Milliardo Peacecraft. Originally, this one was supposed to be the mobile suit of Diana Kessel. But I felt that it wasn't right to give it to someone who hates Rau as much as she does. Then as I began to refine the story, I realized that I didn't have someone for Chris to fight at Jachin Due at the end of Seed. This led to the creation of Zane Scirocco. Then I had the surprisingly difficult time coming out with a suitable mobile suit for him to use initially. Then I remembered my scrapped idea for Diana's mobile suit and gave it to him.

Author's Notes: I am using these machines and characters with Akatsuki_Leader13's permission. All of them belong to him while my own belong to me.

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Well, the usual warning applies. No Flames will be allowed, and any reviews that just outright say the story sucks or that are personal attacks against the author** _will _**be reported if they are signed, or outright deleted if they are not signed.


	2. Phase One: False Peace

**Hey peeps! I have the next chapter ready. I decided to use Akatsuki_Leader13's OCs, with his permission of course. I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam.**

**Read and Review!**

**Phase One: False Peace**

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_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

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_January 25th, C.E. 71_

_Aboard the Vesalius_

_Outside Heliopolis_

Saul Kessel put on his helmet, a click signaling that it was sealed. He went to close his locker door and caught his reflection in the small mirror that was hanging on it. Brown eyes, half obscured by messy locks of black hair. His parents complained about his messy hair, but he did not really care how he looked. Yet it was another source of annoyance to his parents. Then again, he had always been the black sheep of the family.

The red coat heard another door slam and glanced over at another person on the team, or rather, someone who had been assigned to help out. Tao White, a white coat, looked back at him, her blue-grey eyes meeting his own brown. Her black hair stuck up in some spots, and she appeared to be about his age. Yet she was already a white coat.

Saul guessed it had to do something with her father's position, which was most likely the case.

But most of his thoughts revolved around the mission. ORB was supposed to be neutral, and yet they were helping to build new weapons for the Earth Forces. Wasn't ORB supposed to be neutral, like its ideals stated? So, why were they helping out the EA? It just did not make sense.

Yet, they were. And as a result, he and the rest of the team were supposed to attack the supposedly neutral nation's colony and steal said weapons so that they could be used against-

Yzak Joule shouted something at him, making him snap out of his thoughts.

"What was that, Yzak?" he asked his teammate.

"Jeez, how did someone like you get to become a red coat?" Yzak snarled at him. "I said, hurry up and get the rest of your gear on!"

Yzak frequently asked him how someone like him became a ZAFT red-coat, as he usually didn't act like one. And it was kind of true. Saul tended to be rather lazy when not in a combat situation. But, he was a skilled and, unlike Yzak, level-headed pilot as well as the best hacker on the team.

Tao grunted once. "Let him be, or I will report this to your commander." The female Coordinator growled.

Yzak just growled at Tao. "I can tell him to hurry up if I want!" he snapped back.

"Yeah, yeah, calm down Yzak." Saul said in a lazy tone as he put on his jet-pack and combat gear.

Tao proceeded to do the same thing, putting her helmet on last.

"It's no wonder, that with all the yelling you do, that your hair turned white." He added, making Nicol, Dearka, Rusty, and Tao all snicker at his comment as they left for the hanger.

Yzak scowled at him and was about to say something back when Athrun intervened.

"Enough, save your bickering for after the mission."

"Sorry." Saul replied politely.

Yzak just grunted as he made his way towards the hanger with the others.

Tao remained behind, shaking her head. "How did someone like him wind up becoming a red-coat?" she muttered as Saul just shrugged.

"One of these days, he's going to piss off the wrong person…" he muttered under his breath as he, Tao, and Athrun left for the hanger as well.

"What?" Athrun asked.

"Just talking to myself." Saul replied. "Good luck out there, Athrun. Let's hope that the mission goes off without a hitch, as many things could go wrong."

Tao nodded. "It had better, or it could be bad for all of us."

Athrun nodded. "Same."

* * *

_Heliopolis, PLANT colony…_

Kira Yamato looked over his laptop that held his work and sighed. Professor Kato had given him a large amount of work to complete and he was not even halfway done yet. And on top of it, the other guy who was supposed to be helping him on this had decided to take a break thirty minutes ago and had yet to resume working.

"You know, you could actually start working again." He said as he looked at the other person in the gazebo with him.

The other person, a Coordinator named Christopher Dante, was currently playing his guitar. Chris, as he preferred to be called, was sixteen years old and a few inches taller than him. He has greyish-green eyes and dark brown hair that was in short slicked back spikes. He was wearing blue jeans with a simple leather belt, a black t-shirt, and a grey unzipped hoodie. A pair of dog tags hung around his neck.

Kira had known him for only a couple of months, and he was actually surprised when he met him. Kira had heard rumors that Chris frequently picked fights with people, leading Kira to believe that he was a violent person. This was something that Kira would later learn was not true. Though he did get into fights, Kira had never even seen Chris start a fight. Rather, all of the fights he got into were either in defense of someone getting bullied by someone else, or to protect himself.

"I could," Chris said as he continued to play his guitar. "But you're so much better at this than I am."

"Professor Kato asked us _both_ to do this. So could you please get back to work?"

"Alright, alright. Tell you what. You finish that page you're on, then I'll take over for a while and you can take a break. Deal?" Chris asked.

"Deal." Kira replied as he got back to work.

The younger Coordinator was so engrossed in his work from the professor though, that he did not hear another person creep up from behind him. When the hand laid itself on his shoulder, Kira jumped at the touch. He let out a yelp as his computer fell to the ground with a _CRASH_.

"Akira! Don't do that!" Kira rasped as he struggled to get some air into his lungs. Sixteen year old Akira Nishikama just laughed at the sight. "You are too easy to scare, Kira. Lighten up!" the other boy giggled.

Akira, like Kira, was a Coordinator, but second-generation, just like Chris. He wore his black hair pulled back at the bottom, flowing down to his middle back. The boy also had golden eyes and was very muscular but not too much, due to his black belt training in martial arts. Akira was also very skilled at mechanics. He wore a white jacket with a black line on the arms on the outside while a red t-shirt was underneath. Blue jeans and white tennis shoes completed his outfit.

Kira just sighed before he saw his computer on the ground. "Aw shit!" he cursed as he ran over to it and inspected the laptop for any damage. "There better not be any damage…" the brown-haired boy muttered as he looked it over.

The black-haired boy just let out a sigh as Kira stood up, satisfied that there was not damage to the computer. "You should not have done that! Chris and I have work to complete!" Kira explained as he faced Akira.

"From who?" the golden-eyed boy inquired. "Professor Kato." Kira replied. "You know, you still have to help me on this." Kira reminded the other boy. As the two boys stood there, a news report on an invasion launched by ZAFT came on. Kira's mechanical pet bird, Birdy, flew in and landed on Chris's head.

"Birdy, birdy!" the thing chirped. Chris waved his hands above his head, trying to get the robot to leave. "HEY! Get off!" the boy snarled as the thing complied.

With Kira and Aki' chuckling at the scene, it really made Chris mad, but not as in real anger…just a fake anger.

"Hey! Kira! Aki'! Chris!" a voice called. The three Coordinators turned to see Tolle, Nisha, Miriallia, and Chris's younger sister, Elizabeth (also a Coordinator and one year younger than Chris) run up to them. Aki' was Akira's nickname considering how the two names sounded too similar.

Nisha Itsuno was Akira's cousin, who was a Coordinator just like him, but First-Generation. His father was Akira's uncle, and a Natural to boot. He wore a t-shirt with 2 green lines running down the front of it, and blue jeans that had a hole below the right knee. He wore white sneakers to complete his outfit. His hair was light blue, and his eyes were a brown color.

Elizabeth, or Liz as she was called, was an inch shorter than Mirillia, had green eyes and light brown, almost dirty blonde colored, shoulder-length hair. She was wearing faded blue jeans with a rip in the left knee, and a bizarre purple and black striped hoodie.

The four walked up to the gazebo where Kira had been working. "Hey Tolle, Mir, Nisha, Liz!" Chris chirped as the four reached them.

"So this is where you were hanging out?" Tolle asked. Kira nodded. "Professor Kato was looking for you."

"He has more work for us?" Kira asked. "I think so." Mir replied. "He asked us to bring you to him right away."

"We haven't even gotten done with what he dumped on us yesterday!" Kira whined. Aki' just smacked his head in annoyance. Who knew that Kira was such a crybaby?

"Yeah," Chris said in agreement. "Why can't he do some of this himself?"

"Why are you complaining? Chances are, you had Kira do most of it anyway." Liz said as she sat down by her brother.

"Well, he should give it to Kira. He's the more tech savvy one." Chris said in his defense.

"Did he just give us this work to do because we are Coordinators?" The boy asked. His black-haired companion just shook his head.

Tolle, Nisha, Mir and Liz sat down beside Kira as Aki' did the same thing. They were watching the news broadcast on the laptop Kira had with him.

"Appears that there is a lot of fighting in Taiwan." Tolle remarked as he stared at the screen. "Yeah, Looks like ZAFT has its eyes on Kaohsiung and its Mass Driver, if they haven't already taken it over." Chris remarked. "That has to be the target." Aki' murmured as he observed the battle as well.

"That's not far from ORB. Do you think that they will be safe?" Mir asked as she looked at the black-haired Coordinator.

"Don't worry. ORB is neutral. ZAFT isn't going to attack it. The Earth Alliance isn't gonna do anything either. As long as they don't lose Panama or Victoria, that is." Chris replied. "Yeah, besides, even if they did, the Human Reform League will keep the Advance European Union under control." Tolle added. Akira then flashed a glare at Tolle, startling the Natural boy. "What is your problem?!" he exclaimed.

"The AEU… needs to be destroyed!" Akira snarled as he glared at Tolle. The boy gulped as Nisha stood up.

"What is with you?!" he demanded. "Ever since that day, things haven't been the same for you!"

Aki' was silent as he looked down at the ground. "…"

"Well?!" Nisha asked. "Aren't you going to say something?

"It's nothing…Just leave me alone…" Akira murmured before walking off.

"That was weird." Liz said as she looked at her brother. "I'll say." Chris agreed.

"Still, I have to say we're pretty safe." Liz said as she returned to the topic at hand. "Especially here in Heliopolis. After all, why would anyone want to attack Heliopolis? We're neutral, and there's absolutely nothing here."

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

Akira rammed his fist into the side of a wall, making a low _THUNP!_ How could they know of the anger that he felt right now?! Ever since that day…

"GGRRAAAHHH!" the boy snarled as he whirled around and walked towards the gazebo again. Then he stopped. Getting into a martial arts stance, Akira let out his anger through the moves of his body. It was his way of calming down after someone mentioned the AEU…

While Akira did hate the ones who had been responsible, he did not hate all Naturals, considering how he was friends with some of them. The ones he _did_ hate, however, were the leaders of the ones who killed her, Blue Cosmos.

* * *

_Hanger…_

The Creuset team moved into position as they neared the _Archangel_'s secret hanger. A signal from the team leader, Athrun, meant it was time. The signals were not needed however, as the team knew what they had to do.

All of them split up and planted explosives in the entire hanger. Once that was done, the team regrouped and made their way towards the colony interior. Phase two was ready.

* * *

_Vesalius…_

Rau Le Creuset looked at the watch on his wrist and grinned. The time was now. By now, the team should have infiltrated the colony and planted the explosives to take out the ones who stood in his way. Phase two could now begin.

"It's time…" he said to Captain Ades.

"Prepare to launch!" the captain declared as the ship's engines powered up and propelled the vessel forward.

The instant the ship and its companion reached the colony, alarms sounded in Heliopolis's dock control room, in the control room of an Earth Alliance vessel, and in the _Archangel_'s control room.

As the colony readied its defenses, the _Archangel_ prepared to take off if needed. Then, the explosives went off, tearing into the hanger and killing the pilots, entire crew and crew members in the hanger.

* * *

_Heliopolis, Morgenroete Factory District…_

Lieutenant Murrue Ramius felt the tremors of the explosions rock the colony.

"What happened?! Did ZAFT open fire on us?!" Taikyu Itsuno shouted as the violent shaking subsided. He was Akira's uncle and an engineer of the factory district.

"They have to have." Nick Dante replied as the tremors faded completely.

"I'm not sure, but we have to get the G-weapons to the _Archangel_, now!" Murrue replied to the Morgenrouete crew chief.

"The Blitz, the Buster, the Z.A.M., the Surge, and the Duel are all set to go! But we still need more time to prep the, Raven, the Aegis, the Wing, the Diver, the Strike and the Striker packs for transport to the ship!" Chief Dante replied. Then he turned to face several workers.

"Carter, Wilson, Johanna, take your crews and get those four machines to the _Archangel_! We cannot be having ZAFT obtain the weapons!" he ordered.

The two men nodded and set about doing the task while the woman, Johanna Dante, looked at her husband with concern.

Nick put his hands on his wife's shoulders. "Don't worry about the kids. They're smart and are probably on their way to the shelters right now. They'll be fine. Right now, we have a job to do. We'll find them when we're done here, I promise."

Johanna weakly nodded and joined the rest of the crews as Taikyu turned to go and help as well.

"Taikyu, I think we'll need your help here. So don't leave to help with the weapons. There are enough people helping with that." Chief Dante ordered the other man. Taikyu nodded in reply.

As Chief Dante looked over, he saw Lt. Ramius drawing out her sidearm. "How did ZAFT find out about this?!" he asked as he too got his gun ready.

"I have no idea, but we have a job to do…" she murmured as they got ready to fight.

* * *

_Surface, Professor Kato's lab…_

The tremors that the crews had felt shook the lab, sending all sorts of equipment to the ground. Akira had to grab onto the edge of a lab table to steady himself. Kira and his friend Sai also did the same thing. Chris also grabbed a desk as well.

As the shaking died down, Chris had to ask. "Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah," a boy named Kuzzey replied.

"I'm okay…" Mir groaned.

"I'm fine." Tolle remarked.

"Yeah, I'm good…" Nisha muttered.

"Same." His sister replied.

The lab assistant nodded.

"Did a meteor hit the colony?" Sai asked. Akira just shook his head, but not in the way everyone else was thinking.

"I don't really know for sure, so we should get to the shelters just to be safe." Liz said.

"I have to agree with Liz." Chris said. "We don't know what's going on. The smartest thing to do is get to the shelters."

* * *

_Undisclosed location…_

Three forms sat around the table, one female and two male. The female looking form turned to address the two males.

"Now, as you know, the war has been going on for one year as of today. That day, the attack on Junius Seven, is now known as the Bloody Valentine tragedy. We have pledged our support to ZAFT and the PLANTs, but we are not going to try and kill the Coordinators. Those are not the orders we have given our troops." The female began.

The first male form then spoke up in a Spanish accented voice. "Do not take this the wrong way, but what is our reason for fighting the Earth Alliance?" he asked.

She looked at the first male form. "The Earth Alliance is not controlled by a group known as Blue Cosmos. They are a separate group. They believe that the Coordinators are destined to wipe out all Naturals from existence. That is not true. In fact, most Coordinators could care less about wiping out all Naturals." she explained.

The second male form looked musing for a minute before he spoke up next. "What do we know about Blue Cosmos? I mean, their thinking is along the lines of…_them_…" he said.

At the mere mention of the word, chills ran down the spines of the other two forms. The female form then looked at the second male form.

"You are correct about that… You see, we believe that the origins of Blue Cosmos stem from the A.D. era, which included two nasty world wars, the second one involving the origins of the group we are fighting today. During the Second World War, there was a group called the Nazis, which wanted a genetically pure world. Everyone was to have blue eyes and blonde hair, and everyone else was declared inferior. The Nazis tried to genetically modify humans, which led to the fear of genetically engineered humans. Now, I can understand where they are coming from, as all of us here are afraid of that as well. Yet, that does not mean that Coordinators are inhuman. They have the same base DNA as the rest of us. That is what allows us to see them as human." The female form said, but there was still more she had to say.

"Many of us fear the day when we can modify personalities, which is why we have laws that prevent that. But still, there is recent intelligence that suggests that the terrorist group has such technology. However, we cannot tell if that is true or not at this present time. Still, if this technology ever fell into the hands of someone who wanted to create the race of superhumans that everyone fears deep down, then the world of the Nazis will have come into creation…" she trailed off, leaving the other two forms to only imagine what such a world would be like.

The first male form then slammed his hands down on the table before them. "We have to find and destroy that technology!" he declared as he stood up.

A wave from the female form urged him to sit down. "We cannot do what you have suggested until we have confirmed that the technology exists. The intelligence only said that it is suspected of being in existence, not if it exists or not." She reminded him.

The first male form growled before sitting down. "Still, we have to ensure the peace will come back. The only reason I am not objecting to this is because we are the only ones who can ensure that ZAFT and the PLANTs exist without fear."

A grunt from the second male form signified his turn to speak. "I agree that we are the only ones who can protect the PLANTs, but why must we be allied with both sides?" he asked.

"We can't seem too supporting of one side." The female form replied. But, her companion had brought up a good point. "You do have a point though…We can't just ignore the possible threat of an attack from the Earth Alliance. We have to be allied with them for our survival."

A grunt came from the first male form. "Your nation is the most powerful on Earth. How can _you_ be afraid of defeat? No nation in the Earth Alliance wants to challenge you."

The female form glared at the first male form. "That may have been true before the nations of the planet began to form alliances, but now we wouldn't stand a chance. That is why we formed an alliance, to ensure that we can survive in the C.E. era." She snarled back.

Her second male companion just leaned back in the chair and folded his arms. "We all know the reason why. There is no reason to repeat it." He said calmly.

"We all agreed to work together to protect the PLANTs from the Earth Alliance, or more specifically, Blue Cosmos. That is all that we can do at this point. Even if there was more that we could do, it still would not make much of a difference. All we can do is uphold our pledge to the PLANTs for now. When more information becomes available, we will be able to act on our own. Until then, there is nothing more we can do…"

* * *

_Hidden location…_

The female form entered a darkened room, which was just fine with her. She closed the door, walking over to a desk which held a video of the past, a time in which many things had been decided that affected the present…

_-Flashback Video-_

_"We have just made the breakthrough that everyone has wanted to see happen. Today, we have just created the first generation of Coordinators, as the enhanced shall be known from this day onward." A male scientist explained as cameras flashed around him._

_"From today onward, humans will now be able to control their genetic destiny. Parents will be able to prevent all sorts of diseases in their offspring, thus enabling them to live healthy lives. Future generations will be given what their parents were denied, a better chance at life!" the scientist continued._

_Applause rose from the gathered crowd. Many people were eager to rush the man, but the police in front of the lab prevented such an act. Lives would be changed for the better, and no one would ever try to stop what people had desired for so long. But, many did not realize what the future held for the genetically enhanced. And it was not what they had hoped for…_

_-Break-_

_"Would you care to tell us how the future will embrace Coordinators? Many people are eager to hear about the possibilities." A female reporter said._

_The man chuckled. "Well, I can assure you, we can only enhance the bodies, not the souls. That is the one thing that we cannot control. But, what I can tell you is that the creation of Coordinators will lead to a new era for all humans. No one will be suffering from diseases that we have sought to cure. Instead, they will now be immune to those diseases. Genetics has taught us that we can control what we are, and who we are. I fear, however, that there will be those who have bad illusions about Coordinators, and they will try to wipe out the Coordinators that have come into existence."_

_A stunned look crossed the reporter's face. "What do you think that those people will do to the Coordinators?" she asked._

_"Those people will try to claim that Coordinators are inhuman. In reality, they are human. We all have the same base DNA, and that is what makes them human just like us. But, the future is uncertain. I can only take a guess as to how those people will react to Coordinators. I can only guess…" the man sighed._

_-Break-_

_"The United States has just announced that an attack on a Coordinator and his family has occurred. Police are trying to find the ones responsible, but have no suspects at this time. They hope to have someone found soon." The news reporter said, a grim look on his face._

_"Recent news from the hospital where the Coordinator is being treated for injuries says that he is in stable condition. Cops have reported several persons of interest, all claiming to be part of this group called Human Purity. The claims were discredited by the police investigators, who have charged the suspects with a hate crime. Their motives are unknown at this time."_

_-Break-_

_"The Coordinator children have begun to show their talents, and yet many are still too young to be showing their abilities. Many parents have been trying to keep the press away from their children, and with a good amount of success. But the press still persists, causing several cases to go to the Supreme Court for violation of the right to privacy. We can expect to hear the Court's final ruling within the next few hours. Three years into the legal battle, the highest court will decide if the press has the right to come after the Coordinator children of these families." A male reporter said, the Supreme Court building behind him._

_"We have just heard the Supreme Court's ruling, which has gone in favor of the parents of Coordinator children. This is what the Supreme Court justices had to say."_

"We of the Supreme Court have decided to rule in the favor of the parents of Coordinator children. The press has violated their right to privacy, and thus denied the children the right to live a modest lifestyle. In light of this ruling, we hope that the Congress will make and pass laws that will protect the right to privacy for all Coordinator children born to Natural parents."The Chief Justice said as she looked to face the cameras. Lights flashed before she turned and walked back into the Supreme Court building.

_"And there you have it. The Supreme Court's ruling has made it illegal to hound the families of Coordinators. This is a huge landmark case in the legal rights of Coordinators, which will hopefully affect the future generations yet to come."_

_-End Flashback Video-_

The female form sighed as she shut down the video. How had it come to this, when all that was intended was the chance to better the future for humanity? The answers that she sought never came.

_'Damn Blue Cosmos! They were the ones who started all of this!'_ The form thought angrily. _'They had to claim that Coordinators were the creations of the Nazis. But the Coordinators were never the creations of Nazis. Blue Cosmos… They have no idea on what they are trying to do. The whole group is like the Nazis, attacking anyone who is a Coordinator. Each of the members claims that the Coordinators are impure, so they are like a modern Nazi group. Crazy…'_

She looked out the huge windows before her. The stars were shining, visible even from the residence. A small smile crossed her lips before fading again. What was the point in attacking Coordinators, even if they were not doing anything wrong? It did not make any sense to her.

A frown crossed her face as the form sat at the desk. What was it that Blue Cosmos was up to? No one knew, not even her armed forces. That was what bothered her to no end.

Who was running the group that they were facing? And what was their motive for attacking the Coordinators? And how did they get the Nukes needed to blow up Junius Seven?

More questions than answers were appearing, making things difficult in terms of understanding the war. She frowned at the thought. They needed answers if they were going to truly decide their place in the war. More questions would only hinder them anyway. It was not going to be easy, and she knew it. It would not be easy at all…

* * *

_Hanger…_

"That's it…" Yzak Joule purred smugly as he observed the people coming out. "Just like Commander Le Creuset told us they would."

"What, that if we prod them enough, they will come out of hiding?" Dearka questioned his comrade. "What do you think?!" Yzak shot back.

"Of course." Yzak replied in his cocky tone. "After all, the Naturals are stupid and pathetic."

Saul just shook his head at Yzak's comment while Tao slapped her face in annoyance. "Don't underestimate your enemies, Yzak. That will just get you killed. And remember, the Naturals are the ones who created us." He replied.

"Natural lover." Yzak shot back.

"I don't love Naturals. And nor do I hate them. They're simply people, just like us." Saul rebutted. "Enough of this philosophical debate. Matthew and Miguel will be here soon. So we still have a job to do!" Tao snapped.

A moment later, two GINNs appeared over the nearby Morgenroete factory district and opened fire, destroying many of the vehicles that were escorting the mobile suits.

They activated their jetpacks and flew over to four of the six machines, as well as a box that was sealed, while the GINNs systematically destroyed the rest of the escort vehicles. "What is that one?" Nicol asked.

"Ignore it, as it is probably just a part that is being transported." Yzak replied as he landed beside the other pilot. "Destroy the parts we can't carry and the factories." Yzak ordered over the com. "According to intel, there should be six machines."

"There's four out here, which means that the other two must be inside the factory." Saul said over the com-line as he opened fire on the guards below.

"Rusty, Tao and I will continue on to the factory." Athrun said. "Yzak, you guys take these four."

"Alright." He said before turning to the rest of the team. "Listen up, those who take one of those machines, disable the self-destruct first."

Saul, Dearka, Nicol, Yzak, and half of the ZAFT soldiers there landed near the transport vehicle of the first machine and quickly wiped out the guards closest to it.

"I got this one!" Saul shouted as he climbed in an open hatch on the side of the vehicle. "You guys get the other three!"

_'Let's see what the ORB and the Earth Alliance have come up with.'_

* * *

_Lab…_

More tremors shook the building as Chris and everyone else from Professor Kato's lab reached the elevator and stairwell.

"What's going on here?" he asked no one in particular.

Akira looked at the elevator, which Sai was the nearest to. "Let's just focus on getting out of here." He snarled.

"Akira's right. We need to focus on getting out of here first, and then we'll worry about that later." Sai agreed as he pushed the elevator call button.

The second he did, the power failed.

"We'll, it looks like we're taking the stairs." Tolle replied as he pushed open the stairwell door. Nisha held it open while everyone else filed in before he also entered, the door closing behind him.

There were other people climbing the stairs towards the surface and the pods that were up there.

"Hey! Do you guys know what's going on?" Tolle asked them.

"I heard that we're under attack by ZAFT." One man said.

"Yeah, there are mobile suits inside the colony." Another replied.

"What?" Chris shouted in disbelief. "Why the hell is ZAFT attacking us?"

"Yeah. It's not like we have anything of value." Nisha added.

Suddenly, the blond-haired guy that had been waiting for Professor Kato took off down a hallway.

"Wait! Come back!" Kira shouted as he chased the guy.

"Kira! Tolle shouted as his friend took off.

"Wait! Kira, get back here!" Nisha yelled as he too ran off in an attempt to bring the other back.

"I'll go after them! You guys head to the shelters. We'll meet you there!" Chris said as he took off after the trio as well before anyone else could stop him.

"Chris!" Miri cried.

"I'll go get them. You guys just reach the shelters!" Aki called back as he followed the others.

It did not take the two of them long before they caught up with the three of them. The second they did, however, part of the hallway behind them collapsed. Chris and Aki' were sent stumbling to their hands and knees.

"You're a girl!" they heard Kira shout.

Chris and Aki' both looked up to see that the person they had thought was a guy was indeed a girl.

"Yeah, what did you think I was?" she said rudely.

Kira, looking embarrassed, said in his defense. "I…ah…just thought that-"

Another tremor shook the building, interrupting him.

"If you don't mind, we have a bigger problem than that!" Akira snapped. "He's right." Nisha agreed.

"I think that we should get out of here, now." Chris said as he picked himself up off of the floor.

"I agree." The girl said. "You four go back. I need to check something out. By myself!"

"Are you kidding? The entire hallway has collapsed completely. We can't go back that way." Chris said.

"It would be suicide to even try to remove that stuff in the way." Nisha added as he motioned to the rubble blocking their path.

"There's no way for us to go back now." Kira said. "But there should be more shelters in the factory district. C'mon!"

* * *

_Morgenroete factory district…_

Rusty, Tao, Athrun, and the rest of the ZAFT soldiers reached the storage area of the remaining two machines. They had managed to avoid combat thanks to the destruction caused by the two GINNs, so they were grateful for that.

They were now at one of the side entrances of the storage area.

Athrun opened one of the doors slightly, Tao opening the second while his friend threw in two grenades. A pair of explosions followed.

"Go, go go!" Athrun cried as the rest of the team ran inside.

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

Saul sighed as he finished rewriting the machine's OS. He couldn't help but wonder about the crappy OS. He'd thought that ORB and the EA would have been able to come up with a proper OS for these things.

"Well, I'm done." He said over the com-line. "How are you guys doing?"

_"What?! Already?! How the hell can a lazy ass like you be done so fast?!"_ Yzak shouted in disbelief.

Dearka chuckled. _"Figures you're the first one done."_

_"You were always the fastest at this kinda thing."_ Nicol said.

"What can I say? I know the language of computers." He replied. "You guys better hurry up."

Of course, Saul knew that is was gonna take them a few more minutes before they were done. The only reason he was done so fast was that he was gifted when it came to computers.

He decided to pass the time while he waited for the others to finish by looking over the specs of this machine.

_'The GAT-X209 'Surge'. Hmm…Phase Shift Armor. That sounds impressive. Let's see what this thing's got for weapons. Wow! I'm starting to like this thing. I hope I get to use this baby after the mission is done.'_

* * *

_Morgenroete factory district…_

Athrun opened fire on an armed employee while Rusty and Tao looked at the two machines. The man fell to the ground dead while a female cried out "NICK!" Rusty then fired on a man who had been wielding a pipe as a weapon, making him drop it. He fell to the ground, only to get back up a few seconds later and wander over to one of the shelter areas supposedly.

"Hey Athrun! We got a problem here!" Rusty shouted. "Someone screwed up! There are five machines here!"

"What?"

"Take a look!"

Athrun took a glance at the Earth Alliance mobile suits. With all the fighting, he hadn't really paid any attention to them. But now he realized that someone had made a major mistake. There were five prototypes in the warehouse, meaning that there were ninemachines, not six like their intel had said. Then a thought came to him. What if the box he had seen outside was actually another machine as well? Then…wouldn't there be a total of _ten_?

_'How could our intel be that off?'_

"We have to destroy those other three machines!" he ordered. "Someone has to get into those machines and activate the self-destruct!"

Tao glanced back at Athrun. "Let me take one of the machines. We can destroy the other two as we take them." She said.

Athrun nodded. "Very well, can you take the one closest to you?" She nodded and ran off towards it.

But Rusty, who was to receive the Strike, then fell to the ground dead, killed by a gunshot wound to the back which was fired by the man he had injured earlier. He was on one of the prototypes as well, bleeding from his left shoulder, but alive.

* * *

_Entrance…_

Aki', Kira, Nisha, Chris, and the girl all reached the district, only to find ZAFT soldiers and employees fighting one another.

There were two Mobile Suits that were GINNs as well, fighting off the tanks that were in the area. The girl was staring at the Mobile Suits in shock before she spoke again.

"Father, I knew that you would betray us all like this!" she screamed. This brought Nisha, Aki', Chris, and Kira from their thoughts as they remembered the situation.

A female employee then whirled around and aimed her gun at them.

"C'mon!" Kira cried as he grabbed Aki's arm and the girl's arm and dragged them both to the shelter pods with Nisha following them pulling Chris. "We have to get out of here!"

The quad reached the pods, only to find that two of them were full. One still had room though, as it had a green light above it.

Kira pushed the com-button and a voice came over the speaker.

"Is someone else out there?" a voice asked.

"Yes, my friends and I need to get in. Please open the door and let us inside." Kira requested.

"You have more than one friend with you?" the voice inquired. "Yes." Kira replied before the voice answered again.

"Sorry, but we're full to capacity as it is. Try the shelters on the left block!" the voice replied. "At least take the girl and boys with you!" Kira snapped back.

"We'll take the girl, but that is it. You and your friends need to get to the shelters on the left block instead." The man sighed.

The door opened and both Chris and Kira shoved the blonde-haired girl inside. "HEY! What are you doing?! Let me-" her cries were cut off by the door sliding shut, meaning that the shelter was now full.

"Let's go Kira, Nisha, Chris!" Aki' said as he ran for the shelters on the left block. The black-haired boy moved so fast, Kira could not keep up with him as the other Coordinator leaped from one catwalk to the next. "No wonder he is so good at getting behind me…" Kira murmured as he ran halfway across the catwalk. Chris had reached the halfway mark as well by that point.

Nisha, on the other hand, had reached the other side by the time the boys were halfway across. He kept running, unaware of what awaited him as well.

Then Kira saw a ZAFT sniper aiming at the woman the four had run from earlier.

"LOOK OUT!" the boy cried, making the woman whirl around and fire on the sniper, killing him.

"CHRIS! KIRA! What the hell are you two doing here?!" the voice of Chris's aunt, Johanna, called out from on top of one of the mobile suits.

"Long story! Don't worry about us! We're heading to the shelters in the left block!" Chris shouted to his aunt.

An instant later, there was an explosion from the left block.

"Both of you! Get down here now!" the woman that they had saved ordered.

"Doesn't look like we have much of a choice, Kira." Chris said. "Now the question is, how are we gonna get down there?"

"I got an idea." Kira replied before he leaped over the railing and onto the middle mobile suit the woman was on.

"I know I'm gonna regret this." Chris said before jumping off the other side of the catwalk and onto the machine his aunt was on.

He landed on the machine's left shoulder. A little sore, but otherwise alright.

"What is going on? Why is ZAFT attacking us?" Chris shouted as his aunt fired off rounds from a pistol at a ZAFT soldier.

"Long story! Basically, ZAFT wants the machines that we've been building." Johanna replied as she fired the last rounds in her handgun, killing the soldier.

"Isn't that a treaty violation?"

Johanna was about to reply when an explosion tore through a part of the warehouse. Flames quickly spread through the warehouse.

"Damn! This place isn't gonna last much longer!" she said. "Get in the mobile suit! We need to get out of here!"

Chris nodded. The whole warehouse was going up in flames. He quickly scrambled into the cockpit, followed by his aunt.

Tao, who was in the fourth machine, swore silently to herself as she stared at the state of the OS. "How could the Naturals design such a piece of crap?!" she muttered as she set about rewriting the OS.

Taikyu, now recovered from the shock of the bullet strike, was standing on top of the fifth machine. Aki' saw his uncle and jumped down onto it. The boy landed with no trouble on the catwalk near the chest.

"What are you doing here?!" the boy asked. "Just get in, Akira." The man snapped. "I am, I am!" the Coordinator replied as he did so.

"We have to get out of here NOW!" the woman snarled at Kira as another explosion blew throughout the compound. As another massive explosion blew apart the storage area, the GAT-X303 Aegis, ORB-04-A Wing, GAT-X308 Diver, GAT-X305 Raven, and GAT-X105 Strike stood up from their berths…

Now, the battle was about to begin…

* * *

I hope you all liked the chapter. Don't forget to read and review afterwards. Please let me know what you think. I would appreciate constructive criticism, but any flames will not be tolerated. If any flames are given, they _**will**_ be reported. Just a warning for you all. Let me know what you think!


	3. Phase 2: It's Name is Gundam

**Chapter two is up! I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: Actually, the ORB-04-A doeshave a fighter mode. But it is based off the ORB Murasame. You could say it is the prototype to the mass-produced version used in SEED Destiny**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

_January 25th, C.E. 71_

_Morgenroete Factory District_

_Heliopolis…_

Nisha had just reached the outside when he saw a GINN pilot pull off the cover on the container holding another mobile suit. The Z.A.M. Gundam was it?

Then he realized just how bad that could be for everyone out there.

"NO!" he cried as he ran towards the machine and entered via a side hatch on the container.

Nisha opened up the cockpit and climbed in. The door hissed shut, meaning that Nisha was all alone in a machine that he had no idea on how to pilot.

"Great! Now what?!" he murmured anxiously. Then, the other two Mobile Suits attacked her! "Yeeek!" he shrieked.

The young Coordinator hit the one button he knew to be the Phase Shift armor, having seen it quite a few times before. The Z.A.M. Gundam then came to life, the black coloring appearing with the red lined grey cockpit coming in as well. The blue feet were the last part to finish up.

_'The OS is shit! I guess I'll have to re-write it… But in the middle of a battle, that is not going to be easy.'_ The boy concluded as he moved the shield in front of the cockpit. He brought up the machine's OS and began to work.

* * *

_ZAFT P.O.V…_

"DAMN IT!" Matthew snarled as the Z.A.M. Gundam came online. A civilian had stolen it from them! Ironic, if it was not for the battle they were waging at that point.

_'How could we have not noticed this one?!'_ He thought angrily as the machine got up and began to avoid their attacks, getting faster each time. Then Athrun came on over the com-line. _"Rusty failed. An EA officer is inside the last machine."_ The other pilot reported.

"DAMN!" the green coat swore.

* * *

_Normal P.O.V…_

Nisha was re-writing the OS frantically as he dodged each of the enemy's attacks.

"Almost done with the movement…" he muttered as he turned towards the other Mobile Suits that were fighting as well.

One he could see to be the Wing, while the other two were the Strike and the Raven. Nisha knew that he _had_ to get over there and fast. They could use the help as well.

As he made his way over, the com-line beeped. Nisha opened up the channel and heard a female voice.

_"Pilot of the Z.A.M. Gundam, identify yourself!" _the female ordered.

"Nisha Itsuno! I took the machine back from a GINN pilot that was trying to destroy it. I'm heading over towards your location right now!" he replied. He turned the machine in that direction and headed over.

_'I'm not gonna let anyone else die again!'_ he thought.

* * *

_Battle Site…_

Flames leapt about as the five machines wandered away from the fire-consumed warehouse. The movements of each were shaky as the OS's were not yet complete.

Tao sat in her cockpit, still working to rewrite the OS of the Diver. "Those Naturals could have done a better job on the OS!" she growled as she finished up. "I'm done. Heading back now!" she reported.

The Aegis and Diver then leapt away from the other three and landed, just as the three GINNs from earlier landed as well, joined by a fourth as well.

Taikyu was sitting in the pilot seat of the Wing, Akira standing behind him. "Damn ZAFT bastards…thinking that they can steal these machines…" the man murmured. It was clear that he was struggling to operate the machine.

"Uncle, why are you even doing this?!" Akira demanded. The man looked at his nephew with a stern look. "Listen! We need to prevent this thing from falling into ZAFT's hands! That is why I have to get it out of here!" Taikyu snapped.

Akira was too busy staring at the OS though._ 'How can he expect to pilot a machine with such a crappy OS?'_ He thought to himself. "Akira! Pay attention!" his uncle snapped.

The Coordinator snapped his gaze towards the Natural. "The OS is shit. There is no way that you can get it out of here with that!" Akira exclaimed as he pointed at the screen.

"I know that! But we need to get out of here, complete OS or not!" Taikyu snarled as the Wing stumbled before staggering back to its feet.

In the Raven, Chris watched his aunt struggle to operate the mobile suit. Though he knew they were still in danger, he could not help but feel worried about Kira, Liz, and the others.

Then, a woman's voice came on over the radio. _"Attention pilots of the Wing and Raven! Identify yourselves now!"_ the female snapped over the radios of the two machines.

Taikyu hit the com-line button and responded instantly. "This is Taikyu Itsuno of Morgenroete! Is it you, Lt. Ramius?" he asked.

_"Yes it is. Glad to see that you got that machine out of there in time."_ Lt. Ramius commented as the Strike wandered up besides the Wing.

"This is Johanna Dante of Morgenroete. Is that you, Lt. Ramius?" Johanna asked.

_"Yes."_ Lt. Ramius replied. _"It's good to see that you survived and got that machine out as well."_

It became clear to Chris that the other machines had their radios on as well.

Then, another command came in. _"Pilot of the Z.A.M. Gundam, identify yourself!"_

The three machines were staring at the Z.A.M. Gundam, which was walking towards them.

_"Nisha Itsuno! I took the machine back from a GINN pilot that was trying to destroy it. I'm heading over towards your location right now!"_Nisha's voice came on over the com-line, startling Taikyu.

Akira looked anxiously towards the Strike. Last he had checked, Kira was in there.

"Is Kira with you, Lt. Ramius?" Johanna asked.

_"The boy with me? Yes, he is here."_ She replied. _'Thank god.'_ Chris thought as he relaxed. He was not losing anyone else after that day…

"Good. Listen, Murrue! The OS is not ready for a Natural to pilot yet! You need to let Kira into the pilot seat, as he is a Coordinator like my nephew! They can handle the machines better than us right now! It is the only way to save these machines!" Johanna explained.

_"WHAT?!"_ both Kira and Lt. Ramius were shocked at the request. _"There is no _WAY_ that I am letting a civilian pilot a top-secret machine!"_ Lt. Ramius declared. _"Listen! You need to let him! It is the only way that we are going to survive! My cousin is piloting the Z.A.M. Gundam right now!"_ Akira over the radio snapped at the woman.

Then, suddenly, the GINNs pulled out their swords as they put their guns onto their backs, while the Diver and Aegis both flew off. They ran at the four machines, ready to strike.

"Fuck this!" Akira snarled as he shoved his uncle out of the pilot seat and got in. The boy then realized his mistake: he had no idea on how to operate such a machine! He faced his uncle. "What do I do?!" he asked anxiously.

Taikyu reached over to press a switch on the console and the Phase Shift Armor came online. The once grey machine became white, blue, gold, and black as the armor took effect. The wings became color with a black top and white majority and a blue line on the very bottom. The chest became blue with golden lines around where the cockpit door was and the legs and arms became white with blue feet bottoms. The hands became black and the head became white with golden eyes, a golden V-fin and a blue V-fin center. The shin guards were white while the shoulder guards were blue at the bottom and white at the top as well. To finish off the new coloring, the back part where the thrusters were became black as well.

Akira then felt his uncle's hands on the control sticks and the Wing barely managed to get its arms up and push the first GINN back as the sword came down.

"You're gonna have to re-write the OS to suit your abilities." Taikyu explained as he looked at his nephew.

Akira just nodded and proceeded to do so, silent all the while. In his mind, he was thinking _'Is this really happening?'_ over and over again.

* * *

Johanna pushed a button on the console, activating the Raven's Phase Shift armor. Its dull grey body turned to midnight blue with red trim. The second GINN raised its sword over its head. She barely managed to raise the Raven's shield cannon to block the sword strike and push the GINN back.

"Damn it!" Johanna cursed. "We don't have much time, Murrue. It's the only way to save these four machines!"

Johanna then moved out of the seat and said in a no-argument tone "Get in."

Chris quickly sat and began to experiment with the controls while thinking _'What the hell am I doing in this thing?'_

"You're probably gonna have to rewrite the OS to better accommodate a Coordinator like yourself." She said.

"Oh, great." Chris muttered to himself as he began to re-write the OS.

But the second GINN wasn't going to give him the time to do it. It lunged at him with its sword. Chris barely sidestepped the attack.

"Damn it! I need more time." He said as he continued to type away while keeping an eye on the GINN.

* * *

The first GINN lunged at the Wing, making the black-haired Coordinator let out a yelp and pulled hard on the controls, barely avoiding the sword attack.

"You BASTARD!" Akira screamed as the Wing landed safely. _'Damn it all! I need to get out of here! But these ZAFT idiots are not letting me! I guess I'll have to do this the hard way…'_ the boy thought as he looked over the Wing's specs while re-writing the OS.

Nisha tried to give his cousin cover fire, but the third GINN ran at him as well, making him move back.

_'Hellfire mini-missiles, beam sabers, wing blades…better not use those….75mm "Igelstellungs" anti-air Vulcan guns, nice… dual .74mm hyper-velocity beam rifle…now there is something new…Transformable Gundam, huh? Might as well see what it can do…'_ Akira decided as he finished up with the movement systems.

By now, the boy had finished re-writing the OS. Even if it was not perfected yet, it was at least enough to keep them out of harm's way. The Wing's movements were now much more fluid, although there were some parts that still needed to be worked on.

A sudden attack by the GINN caught the boy off guard as a bleeping sound came from the side of the pilot seat. Akira could only guess that the sound was an alert to the enemy being behind them…

"DAMN IT!" he swore as he spun the Wing around, getting out its beam saber, which was ignited to form a golden blade. Akira raised the beam saber and attacked the GINN, which wound up blocking with its sword.

The force pushed the two machines apart, allowing the GINN to put its sword away and take out its gun to fire on the Wing._ 'Close range isn't gonna work at this rate. Gonna have to try long range…'_ Akira considered as he pulled the trigger for the head-mounted Igelstellung guns. The rounds flew at the GINN and although the damage they caused was minimal, they did get the pilot of the enemy caught off guard.

* * *

The second GINN swung its sword again and again at him. But each time, he dodged the blows. And, Chris noted, that the machine's movements as well as his own reactions were becoming quicker and smoother. The mobile suit's movements weren't perfect, but it was definitely better than it was earlier. The pilot of the GINN was clearly getting angry as his swings were getting wilder and wilder. This made it easier for Chris to avoid his attacks and re-write the OS.

"This will have to do for now." He said to himself as he finished his typing.

He hadn't completely rewritten the OS, but he didn't have time to do that while dodging attacks. But it was enough for him to properly pilot the machine without much difficulty.

The GINN swung its sword in a downward arc. He sidestepped it and punched the GINN's head, sending it falling to the ground.

Chris took this momentary stop in the fighting to check the machine's computer for its weapons.

_'Let's see…"Igelstellung" 75mm anti-air vulcan guns, beam sabers, and a dual 52mm hyper velocity shield cannon. Hmm…Mobile Armor mode. I don't think I'll be trying that one today.'_

The GINN quickly got back onto its feet. He could imagine that the ZAFT pilot was getting pretty pissed by now. The GINN charged at him, its sword pulled back. The GINN pilot clearly wanted to destroy him and this mobile suit.

_'Well, let's try the Igelstellungs.'_

Chris squeezed the trigger and the two head-mounted Igelstellungs fired. The rounds did nothing to the GINN's armor, but they did catch the pilot off-guard and he stopped his charge.

The GINN sheathed its sword, drew its rifle, and fired. Rounds struck the mobile suit, violently shaking it, but the armor held.

_'Wow. This thing's armor must be quite strong if it can take bullets from a mobile suit rifle without any real damage. Let's see what this thing can do.'_

He raised the machine's right arm, the one with the arm-mounted cannon, and fired. A pair of energy shots streaked out towards the GINN.

Unfortunately, the cannon's calibration was off. The first shot missed entirely while the second shot severed the GINN's right arm at the elbow. The GINN staggered back a few steps and took off into the air, fleeing Heliopolis.

Suddenly, there was a loud nearby explosion. Chris looked around and spotted the Strike stumbling backwards from an explosion.

"KIRA!" He shouted. To his relief, the Strike stayed standing and appeared to be relatively undamaged.

* * *

Nisha growled as he attacked the nimbler GINN. "Damn you!" he snarled as he drew back the Z.A.M. Gundam's fist. His machine then punched the GINN right in the head.

_'I can't risk using the heavy weapons here because there are still people on the colony.' _He reminded himself as he got ready to fight the GINN again. Nisha then grabbed one of the Z.A.M. Gundam's beam sabers and ignited the blade.

"Take THIS!" he cried as he attacked. The GINN's pilot had no time to react, causing his machine to get impaled. The damage made his machine blow up upon impact.

* * *

_'DAMN IT! So much for long range…'_ Akira thought bitterly as the GINN's pilot fired the gun again. This time, the bullets hit the Wing dead on. Akira grunted as he struggled to get the machine to stay upright.

"Be careful!" his uncle exclaimed as the man tried to stay upright as well. Akira looked back at him with an angry look in his eyes. "Be quiet, alright?! Fighting these guys is not as easy as you think!" the boy snapped.

Taikyu stared at him, surprise on his face. Akira then looked back, wondering what the GINN was up to next.

"Let's try the beam rifle…" he murmured as the Wing got out the weapon from behind its back. The machine pulled the trigger and two shots flew from the barrel, one taking off one of the GINN's arms at the shoulder joint while the other missed.

Not happy with the outcome, the GINN took off, just in time for Akira and Taikyu to hear an explosion from nearby.

"NISHA!" Aki' shouted as he watched the Z.A.M. Gundam stumble backwards. The machine remained standing however, which was a good thing.

Fiery remains of the third and fourth GINNs were all that remained of the battle now…

"Lt. Ramius, Kira, Nisha, Chris, Johanna! Are you alright?!" Taikyu asked over the com-line.

_"Yes, I'm fine. But the woman is unconscious and injured!"_ Kira replied anxiously.

_"I'm good, just shaken up…"_ Nisha added.

"We're fine…" Chris said. "That was close…"Johanna sighed.

"There is a park not too far from here. We'll regroup there." Taikyu explained. "Got it!" the four replied.

As the four machines headed there, Taikyu looked at Akira. "Are you alright? You look shaky." The man noted. For the first time, the boy then realized what had happened to him during the fight.

The Coordinator was breathing heavily, sweaty, and was gripping the controls in a death-like grip. The rush of adrenaline still remained in Akira's body, making him shaky as he recalled what he had done.

He, a young ZAFT rookie, had just beaten a ZAFT ace while re-writing an OS and was piloting a Mobile Suit at the same time! But the machine was of the Earth Alliance. That alone made his predicament very hard. Akira was a soldier of ZAFT, and a red coat at that. Would he betray ZAFT for the Earth Alliance…?

* * *

_A young woman's body was on the floor of the house. Her clothes were gone, and she was covered in blood, most coming from a certain area…_

* * *

_'NO! I _can't_ do that! The Earth Alliance member SAF killed my sister at the urging of Blue Cosmos! I _can't_ join them!'_ The boy reminded himself.

"I'll be fine…" Akira murmured as he looked down at the controls. How could he do something like this…? How could he at all…?

"What is this machine's name?" the boy asked. His uncle looked at him before speaking again.

"It is called the ORB-04-A Wing. It is a top-secret project that is a joint effort between NASA and ORB. But that is all I can actually say about it right now…" Taikyu replied.

"I see…" Akira trailed off, just staring at the screens without even looking back at the older man.

He gripped the controls and headed towards the park. He had to see if Kira and Chris were alright.

* * *

In the Raven's cockpit, Johanna placed her hand on Chris's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?"

For the first time, he realized that he was breathing heavily, sweating buckets, and he had a death-grip on the controls. He felt a little light-headed and scared but at the same time, he had this lingering sense of excitement, like he had just gotten off an intense amusement park ride. He let go of the controls and watched his hands tremble slightly for a moment.

He couldn't help but wonder how they had survived that battle. This was his first time in a mobile suit, and yet he had managed to beat a trained ZAFT pilot while rewriting part of the OS.

His hand reached up and wrapped around his grandfather's dog tags. His grandfather had always said that these dog tags were lucky and would protect the wearer. Before, he had passed it off as his grandfather being superstitious. Now, he wasn't so sure.

He nodded. "I'll be alright."

"Hey, what's this machine's name?"

"It's the GAT-X305 Raven." Johanna answered. "And the machine that Kira is in is the GAT-X105 Strike."

"The Raven huh? So you made this thing?"

"Yes, but at the moment, I can't tell you much else. This is all supposed to be top-secret."

"Is uncle Nick a part of this as well?"

The second Chris asked that, he regretted it. A pained look spread across her face.

"He's dead…"

"W-what?"

"A ZAFT soldier shot him." She answered, the pain evident in her voice.

Chris hung his head in sorrow. This damn war had claimed another person he cared about.

"Come on. We have to go. We can mourn later." Johanna said in a reassuring tone.

He gripped the controls again and moved the machine toward the park.

* * *

_Park…_

As the Wing, Z.A.M., Raven, and Strike all deactivated their Phase Shift armor, Nisha, Taikyu, Chris, Johanna, Kira, and Akira were stunned to see Tolle, Sai, Mir, Liz, and Kuzzey run up as the five got out of their cockpits.

"Why aren't you guys in the shelters?!" Akira demanded. The five just looked at one another before Sai spoke.

"We kind of were in the middle of the battle when we came outside." He replied.

Chris then ran up and hugged his younger sister. He wasn't usually the type for this kind of thing, but the thought of his sister out there in the middle of a battle had scared him half to death. "Why weren't you in the shelters?" he asked

"Sorry brother." Liz replied. "But as Sai said, once we got outside, we kind of ended up in the middle of a battle between you and those GINNs."

"You guys were great, and those machines of yours are just too cool for words!" Tolle remarked as he ran up to the two. "Where did they come from and-?" he was cut off by Taikyu.

"We have an injured woman in the Strike and I need help getting her out. Akira, can you finish up with the OS? I have a feeling that it may be the one thing that can save this machine from ZAFT." The man replied.

Akira nodded as he ran to the Wing and got into the cockpit. He could hear his uncle speaking to the others about what kind of help he needed.

Then, the man looked at Nisha. "I want you to do the same with the Z.A.M. Gundam." He added. The light blue-haired Coordinator nodded as he ran over to the machine.

"What should we do then?" Kira asked. "I want you, Sai, and Tolle to help me get her out of the Strike." Taikyu explained.

"I'll help with the woman." Johanna offered. Taikyu nodded before the woman faced her nephew. "Chris, I want you to get back in the cockpit and finish rewriting the OS of the Raven. ZAFT may have left, but it's likely that they'll be back and you, Akira, Nisha, and Kira are the only ones who can sortie. And once we get Lt. Ramius out of the cockpit, I want to do the same."

"Actually, I kind of already did that…" Kira replied sheepishly. Akira peeped out of the Wing's cockpit, unable to believe what he had heard.

"Wow… That is just amazing… I mean, I knew that you Coordinators were impressive, but that is just…wow…" Johanna murmured. She had never heard of any Coordinator doing something like that while under attack either.

"What about the rest of us?" Mir asked.

"Just stay out of the way for now." Johanna answered. "Okay, let's get to it." Taikyu replied.

Chris climbed back into the Raven's cockpit while Kira and the others set about doing their tasks.

Chris sighed as he sat down and pulled out the keyboard. He knew that Kira was good at computers, but the fact that he had completely rewritten the Strike's OS while under attack no less was unbelievable. He doubted that most Coordinators could do that.

He resumed re-writing the OS. He had to admit, this machine was impressive. And he was kind of curious about the full extent of the Raven's abilities. He almost wished ZAFT would launch another attack just so he could see its abilities.

Keyword there being 'almost'. If ZAFT _did_ attack again, it would just endanger Heliopolis and its people.

Akira pulled back into the Wing and resumed his task, unable to believe what he had heard. _'I knew that Kira was good with computers, but to be able to do that?! He must have done something to it beforehand, but why would he be as confused as to what he needed to do… Nah. Kira would never mess with a top-secret project, especially if he never knew about it to begin with.'_ Aki' reminded himself.

Aki' looked over the Wing's specs again, and was impressed by the abilities it had.

Five minutes later, Taikyu looked into the Wing's cockpit while Johanna checked up on Chris.

"How are thing going with re-writing the OS?" the Natural asked. Aki' didn't even look up as he spoke.

"I'm just about done here…" the boy replied. "How is the woman?"

Taikyu looked back. "She is still unconscious, but we treated her wound the best we could." He explained.

"How is it coming?" Johanna asked as Taikyu checked in with Akira.

"Almost done." Chris replied. "How's the Lieutenant?"

"We treated her wound the best we could. She's still unconscious though."

"So, what now?" Chris asked.

Aki' looked up, wondering the same thing.

Johanna sighed. "We'll have to get the Striker packs for the Strike as it is low on battery power. I'll need to find a transport truck for them to get them here anyway." she replied.

Akira raised an eyebrow. "Striker packs?"

"They are the armaments for the Strike Gundam. Unlike the Wing and Raven, Strike had very few built-in weapons. With each one, the Strike can be equipped to handle multiple roles on the battlefield. The Wing is designed to fight in the air and space, so it has weapons built-in. The Raven is designed for atmospheric and space combat, so it too has weapons built in." Taikyu explained.

A low whistle came from the golden-eyed boy before him. "Wow. That's impressive."

"The Strike is designed to be the most powerful of the prototypes so far. But the Wing and Raven have more abilities for me. The Aegis and Diver are also more of my preference." Johanna added.

"Are they the ones that fled from us?" Chris asked. "Yes, and like the Wing and Raven, the Aegis and Diver can transform. But the Aegis's alternate form is a Mobile Armor like the Raven and the Diver's is a submarine, whereas the Wing turns into a fighter craft." Taikyu explained.

"Of course, I liked the idea of transforming robots, and that is one of the reasons Taikyu and I fought to save the Raven from being scrapped after the accident." Johanna added.

"There was an accident?" Chris asked.

"Yes. Early in the construction of the Raven, there was an accident. Half of the crews who were working on it either died or were seriously injured. Afterwards, the higher-ups wanted to scrap the Raven and focus on the other units. Myself and some of the others that bad been working on these machines had decided that we shouldn't discard the Raven just because of the accident. We argued that the Raven had for the most part survived the accident and could be salvaged and that by abandoning it, all those who died would have died in vain. Eventually, they agreed to allow us to finish it."

Akira looked at the controls for the Wing again before he heard his uncle speak to him again. "I am not surprised that ZAFT doesn't know about the three machines though. They were finished as of today, so ZAFT has no data on them." Taikyu remarked as he looked at the machine.

"Why were they finished today?" Aki' inquired. His uncle looked at him. "The Wing was put on hold due to the Striker packs being built, so construction was delayed. However, NASA and ORB both decided to have it built by their techs, so it is not a G-weapon. Same with the Z.A.M. Gundam" The man replied.

"There is one thing that is bothering me though. Why would ZAFT attack us? It is not like we violated the treaty, is it?" Chris asked. Both Johanna and Taikyu looked down.

"We did violate it." Johanna replied grimly. Aki' snapped his gaze towards his uncle. "You did?!"

Chris instantly stopped typing "What?

The man did not even dare to face his nephew, knowing full well what he was capable of, considering that he was a black belt in martial arts and a Coordinator on top of it.

"We worked on building the machines, and they were for the EA." Johanna continued in a sad tone. "That injured woman is actually an EA officer." she added.

At that, Akira grabbed his uncle's shirt. "She is an _EA officer_?! Do you even _know_ what the EA did to my sister?! HUH?!" the boy snarled.

Taikyu looked at Akira sadly. "I do…but we still had a job to do. It's not like we could just refuse it anyway…ORB was the one that wanted this done, and don't even ask me why." The man replied.

"Why would the ORB government do that? They wanted to stay out of the war." Chris said.

Johanna shrugged. "Don't ask me. I'm not a politician. I just build these things."

Akira released his grip on his uncle and just looked away. "Just leave me alone…" he growled. The man just left his nephew alone in the Wing, knowing that he needed time to calm down.

Chris had never met the Lion of ORB, but his grandfather had on several occasions and always spoke highly of him. Athha had always spoken of maintaining ORB's neutrality, yet if he authorized building these mobile suits for the EA, then how could ORB stay neutral? What reason did he have for violating the treaty like that?

"Well, I'm going now. I'll be back in a little while." Johanna said as she climbed out of the cockpit. "Let's hope that ZAFT has decided to leave rather than risk further damage to the colony trying to capture these machines."

He resumed his typing. He wondered what would happen now. Clearly these machines were top-secret and he doubted the authorities would just let all of them walk away after seeing these things, and in the case of Akira, Nisha, Kira, and himself, pilot these mobile suits. Though his aunt _did_ work for Morgenroete, so that may help them out a little bit. Maybe she'd be able to convince them to let Liz and the others go while he, Kira, Nisha, and Akira would help them make a better OS for these machines.

When he finished re-writing the OS, Chris decided to climb out of the Raven. As he did so, a gunshot when off, fired by the EA officer.

Once Johanna had left to get the Striker packs, Akira was also left to wonder what would happen next. Now that he and his friends had seen the machines, would they be shot or… "Get out of those machines!" A female voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

Akira knew better than to mess with an armed opponent. He climbed down, just as Tolle, and Kuzzey climbed off of the Strike and Chris climbed down from the Raven.

"Stop this! What are you doing this for?!" Kira cried. "They got you out of the cockpit and treated you head injury!"

"While I am grateful for your help, I cannot allow you civilians to touch these machines. They are apart of a top-secret project." The woman explained.

"C'mon! Kira, Nisha, Chris, and Aki' were just piloting those things a few minutes ago!" Tolle argued back.

A wave from the gun meant for everyone to get into a group, which they did. Tolle was miffed about being ignored, but he let it slide. Best not to argue with an armed woman anyway…

"I need names, NOW!" the woman snapped at the little group of Naturals and Coordinators before her.

"Kuzzey Buskirk." Kuzzey replied.

"Sai Argyle." Sai responded.

"Mirillia Haww." Mir added.

"Tolle Koenig." Tolle replied.

"Akira Nishikama." Akira added himself.

"Nisha Itsuno." Nisha replied.

"Liz Dante." Liz said.

"Chris Dante." Chris added.

Kira just glared at the woman with defiance in his eyes before he replied. "Kira Yamato." the boy finished.

"I am Lt. Murrue Ramius of the Earth Alliance. I am sorry to tell you all this so suddenly, but I cannot allow any of you to leave at this point." Murrue replied.

"WHAT?!" Everyone, even Akira, was shocked except for Chris, who had already expected this. "You all have been exposed to a great military secret, and until I can get a hold of the right authorities, you cannot leave my sight." The woman explained.

"How can you do this to us?! We're citizens of ORB! You cannot tell us what to do!" Tolle snapped at her.

"Do you want her to shoot you? If you haven't noticed, she has a gun. Antagonizing her will only get you hurt." Akira growled at the Natural. "He's right. It's best to not piss her off right now." Chris added.

Murrue did not falter with her gun. "I suggest you listen to him. It will make things easier for all of you at this point." She replied. "Now, where did Johanna Dante go?" Murrue asked.

"She is going to retrieve the Striker packs for the Strike." Chris explained. Murrue just nodded at the information.

"Very good. That will make things move even faster for us." She remarked as she put her gun away. "Akira, Kira, Chris, I want you three to see if you can get in contact with any remaining Earth Forces in the colony." Lt. Ramius instructed.

"I'll do that. The Wing has two battery units, so it has way more power than the Strike right now." Akira replied as he climbed back into the Wing's cockpit.

"But the Raven does too. So, maybe both of us could try." Chris suggested.

Akira nodded before Chris hopped into the Raven's cockpit to try and raise the EA forces with him. Both sat down and powered up their machines.

"ORB-04-A Wing, calling any surviving Earth Forces, please respond!" Akira tried the raise any forces in the area, but met only failure.

"This is the GAT-X305 Raven. Any members of the Earth Forces still in Heliopolis, please respond!" Chris said, trying get through as well.

After a few more tries, the Coordinators gave up. ZAFT had to be either jamming the colony transmissions, or there was no one left alive from the Earth Forces.

"No response! ZAFT is either jamming us…or the Earth Forces have been wiped out!" Chris called back.

"You can come down then…We'll try again later on…" Lt. Ramius replied.

As the two boys leapt down, Johanna came back in a truck with a trailer. The vehicle stopped near the Strike, no doubt with the Striker packs.

"Good to see you up, Lt. Ramius." Johanna exclaimed as she got out of the cab. "I got one of the Striker packs, but the others wouldn't fit." she added.

"One will do for now. Let's get it hooked up to the Strike." She replied as she looked at Kira.

"Kira, get back into the Strike while I get the Launcher Striker hooked up." Johanna instructed as the boy nodded. As he did that, the woman hit a button for the trailer and the thing opened up to reveal the unit.

"Now kneel down with the Strike's back facing the side of the trailer." Taikyu continued as the machine did as he and Johanna wanted. "Now, I'm going to-" an explosion cut off Johanna's words, making everyone look up.

A huge fireball was coming from one part of the central shaft of Heliopolis. Then, a ZAFT CGUE came out of the smoke, an EA Moebius Zero not too far behind.

"Akira, get inside the Wing NOW! Nisha, board the Z.A.M. Gundam!" Taikyu ordered, but the two didn't need to be told twice. Akira was already en route towards his machine wile Nisha was running towards his.

"Chris! Get in the Raven now!" Johanna shouted.

The second he had seen the ZAFT machine, Chris had already started running to the Raven. He quickly climbed into the machine and turned it on as Johanna and Taikyu started to mount the Launcher Striker onto the Strike.

Akira climbed into the cockpit of the Wing, shut it, and turned on the machine as the Launcher Striker was being mounted onto the Strike as well.

While this was going on, the CGUE had sliced off one of the Moebius's guns meaning that the machine had no means of the defense now, and now it had its eye set on the Raven, the Wing, and the Strike.

Akira fired on the CGUE as the Wing took to the air, its Phase Shift armor now activated and powered up. He then let loose a shot from the beam rifle, missing the CGUE.

The other machine dodged to the side, making Akira growl in annoyance. _'Damn it! This guy sure is not messing around! I'll have to see if trying something else will work, or everyone down there is dead! Let's see if the Wing can handle the air combat…'_ the boy thought as he flew after the CGUE. He had to distract the ZAFT machine long enough for the Strike to finish the equipment change while the others got away from the area. But he never got the chance to, as the CGUE sliced off the left stabilizer of the Wing, making Aki' crash to the ground.

"Gah! Damn it!" the boy swore as he slammed his fist into the cockpit wall.

Chris, seeing Akira crash, aimed the Raven's arm cannon at the CGUE and opened fire. But the CGUE effortlessly dodged every shot as it flew towards them.

_'Damn. This guy is good. Gonna have to try something different or we're all gonna die. Well' let's see what this thing can do in the air.'_

The Raven then leapt into the air, its thrusters blazing. Chris fired its cannon at the CGUE as it flew away from the Strike was. He had to distract the ZAFT machine long enough for the Launcher Striker to be mounted onto the Strike, and for Liz and the others to get away from the area.

And sure enough, the CGUE turned and began to fire at him as it dodged the energy shots.

_'Yes, follow the little birdie. Don't worry about the defenseless machine on the ground.'_

Chris honestly didn't know how long he could hold out by himself against this machine. The pilot was clearly an experienced ace and he on the other hand was piloting a mobile suit for the second time.

* * *

Nisha could only look on as Chris took to the air. His machine was not made for air combat, so all he could do was just watch, hope, and pray that his friend would be alright.

* * *

Rau Le Creuset was now becoming annoyed. Not only had Athrun reported the Strike remaining in the Earth Alliance's hands, but the supposedly scrapped seventh mobile suit was back in action and there had been _an eighth, ninth, and tenth machine_ as well. He had managed to render the annoying EA pilot, Mu La Flaga, defenseless until the GAT-X305 Raven, if he recalled correctly, had come into view and began to fire on him. Rau also noted that the machine had succeeded in its mission, which had been to draw him away from the smaller craft as well as the Strike and the other two machines as well.

Rau had to admit the pilot was good. But he still was a rookie nonetheless.

"You're good with a gun, but let us see how you handle against a sword." He remarked as he put the CGUE's rifle away and got out the machine's sword.

* * *

Chris heard the enemy pilot's voice over his com-line. _"You're good with a gun, but let us see how you handle against a sword."_

As those words left the unit's radio, the CGUE switched from long range to close range; a gun for a sword. Chris quickly fired the arm cannons at the ZAFT machine, but it sidestepped every shot as it rocketed towards him.

At the last second, Chris blocked the sword with the shield part of the Raven's cannon while its left hand reached for the beam saber on the right side of its waist.

He drew the saber, activated it, and slashed at the CGUE, but it quickly parried the blow with its own sword.

Chris swung again and again at the CGUE. Every time, it effortlessly dodged, blocked, sidestepped, or parried his attacks. And whenever the CGUE attacked, Chris barely did the same.

_'Damn! This guy is really good. At this rate, unless Kira can lend me a hand, I'm not gonna last much longer.'_

Then, he had an idea.

"Nisha, eager to pull a double attack?" Chris asked his friend. An eager reply came through.

_"You bet!"_ Nisha exclaimed as the Z.A.M. Gundam jumped up as Chris turned the Raven to its mobile armor form. _'Looks like I did use the mobile armor mode today.'_

Landing on the wings, Nisha's machine was now ready for combat. _"Ready!"_

Chris smirked as he then flew at the CGUE with the Z.A.M. Gundam on top of his own machine. Nisha yanked out one of the beam sabers and slashed at the enemy machine, making the CGUE's pilot pull back in shock.

* * *

Rau snarled in anger as he dodged the double attack. Two machines at once?! "Damn them!" he growled.

* * *

Nisha smirked as the CGUE avoided a beam slash, only to be hit by the Ahura Mazda cannons mounted on the wings of the Raven.

"How do you like that?" he asked in a confident voice. The Z.A.M. Gundam might not be much of an asset in long-range due to the risk of damaging the colony, but the Raven sure more than made up for it with the long-range guns.

As Chris flew the Raven at the CGUE again, Nisha then slashed once more, grazing the armor of the enemy unit. "Take that!" Nisha exclaimed.

Akira just snarled, knowing more about the enemy than Nisha. He moved the Wing to a kneeling position and fired as well, the beam impacting the left leg of the CGUE. In response, a beam was fired from the CGUE's beam weapon, making Aki dodge the impact.

Nisha gasped at the sudden attack the Wing had pulled and the responsive retaliation pulled off. "Akira, how good is this guy?"

Akira was silent, not saying anything regarding the enemy unit.

Nisha just brushed it off as he opened up with the head-guns on the Z.A.M. Gundam, making the CGUE bring up its shield to deflect the bullets.

A smirk came to his lips again. This was easier than he, Chris, or his cousin had expected, especially with the moves they pulled off.

It was their advantage from here on out. Now the enemy unit was on the defensive…

* * *

_Aboard the Archangel…_

Lt. Natarle Badgiruel and the few crew members that made up the bridge crew of the ship rushed to get the _Archangel_ online. ZAFT had attacked them, so now the captain, the G-pilots, and the majority of the crew was dead, having been outside the ship when the attack had occurred.

On top of that, no one knew what was happening outside the hanger.

"All systems green. Ship is ready to launch!" Chandra reported.

Due to the attack, however, there was no way for the ship's crew to open the hanger doors. So they would have to make one of their own.

"Take us out at maximum speed. Once the ship reaches top speed, fire the Lohengrins!" Lt. Badgiruel ordered.

In a minute, the powerful cannons fired, blowing the doors out.

* * *

_Outside…_

The explosion was heard and felt by everyone around the area.

As a massive fireball tore through an area of Heliopolis, the _Archangel_ emerged as if a ghost from a movie.

_'First ZAFT attacking us, and now this?! What else could go wrong today?!_' Akira wondered as he stared at the emerging ship. Nisha was thinking the exact same thing as the ship emerged.

_'First a ZAFT attack, and now this? What else is gonna happen today?'_ Chris wondered.

No one knew the answers…

* * *

Second chapter is done. I hope you all read and review. If any of you are confused about anything, please let me know, and I will try to make it clearer next chapter.


	4. Phase 3: Collapsing Land

**Chapter three is up. I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**Note 1: The USSA. They do not exist in this story either. In their place is the Southern Atlantic Federation, or SAF for short.**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, the feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

**Read and review please!**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

_January 25th, C.E. 71_

_Heliopolis…_

Chris stared in amazement at the warship coming out of the smoke. It was not ZAFT in design, so that meant that it had to be on their side…at least, he hoped it was.

The CGUE also caught sight of it and flew right at it, gun now out once again. Its pilot attacked, strafing the ship while firing. But the gun did little against the armor of the powerful vessel.

"Guess that answers my question." He said to himself.

"So much for that move…" Akira smirked to himself. The CGUE's pilot was definitely not taking down that warship, that was for sure.

The CGUE turned and looked as if it was preparing to do another strafing run on the ship when it flew downwards. It was heading towards where the Strike was and…

_'Liz!'_

Chris flew the Raven down to take on the enemy Mobile Suit. Nisha jumped off of the Raven so it could turn into its Mobile Suit form. He landed unharmed.

The Wing then stood up and ran at the enemy Mobile Suit.

As Akira neared the CGUE, he turned his machine to face the enemy unit and then opened fire with the beam rifle. "Leave them ALONE!" the boy cried. The CGUE then responded by opening fire as well.

Chris pushed the Raven as fast as it would go. He had to intercept the CGUE before its attack hit. But it was too late. The shots from the CGUE neared the Strike and the people near it.

"NO!" Chris shouted.

Then, the Strike knelt down in front of the path of the CGUE's bullets, protecting Liz, Johanna, and the others.

Using the Wing's superior maneuverability, Akira dodged the beam shots and attacked himself. The boy opened fire with the Wing's beam rifle and got in a hit on one of the legs of the enemy Mobile Suit.

_"You're good, but I doubt you could stand up to my superior skills."_ The enemy pilot sneered. Akira just growled as he flew out of the way of a beam shot.

"Damn coward!" Chris yelled as he fired the Raven's cannon at the CGUE.

Inside the Z.A.M. Gundam, Nisha swore to himself. He knew that he was unable to use the missiles of his machine, but on the downside, he was unable to attack as a result.

The CGUE flew upwards, dodging the shots. As it did however, the _Archangel_ fired four missiles at the CGUE. The enemy pilot destroyed two of the missiles while the other two missed and hit the central shaft of Heliopolis.

_'Damn it! We can't risk anymore damage of Heliopolis!'_

Suddenly, Chris heard a bleeping noise. It was coming from the power status bar, which showed the Raven's power at thirty percent.

_'Damn!'_

Akira glanced at the enemy unit before a bleeping noise got his attention. He glanced at the power status bar and swore. The Wing's first battery unit was at thirty percent while the second was at eighty percent.

"Kira," Chris called over the com-line. "I'm low on power and I doubt Heliopolis is gonna be able to take much more. We have to end this fight now. Nisha, Aki' and myself will try to keep him busy, you try to hit him with that big gun of yours. Got it?"

_"Got it."_ Kira replied.

_"Sounds good."_ Nisha said.

_"Let's just get this over with."_ Aki' replied.

Chris aimed and fired the cannon at the ZAFT Mobile Suit. Yet again, the skillful pilot of the CGUE avoided the shots. But before the enemy pilot could aim at him, Aki' opened fire with the Wing's beam rifle. But, just as before with Chris, the CGUE dodged the shots fired at it, except for a few that managed to hit it on the right leg.

However, the CGUE then turned its attention back towards Chris, whom it considered a real threat due to the fact that the Raven was the only one actually airborne. It raised and aimed the rifle at him.

It was about to fire when a massive beam streaked towards it. The ZAFT pilot barely dodged the shot, but it lost its right arm in the process. Unfortunately, the beam continued traveling and pierced the superstructure of Heliopolis.

"No…" Chris said weakly as the CGUE fled through the hole that had been made.

Aki' stared before slamming his fist into the cockpit wall. "Damn it!"

Nisha gaped at the damage before him. Was that the power of the Strike?!

Heliopolis had been devastated, and all three couldn't help but wonder if the colony could recover from the damage inflicted to it.

* * *

_A short time later…_

_Archangel…_

The Wing, Z.A.M. Gundam, Strike, and Raven all landed in the hanger of the _Archangel_'s Mobile Suit catapult. All four knelt down side by side and set down the precious cargo they each held. Liz, Sai, and Johanna both got off of the Raven's hands while Miri, Tolle, and Kuzzey got off of the Strike's hands. Lt. Ramius got off of the Wing's hand and Taikyu got off of the Z.A.M. Gundam's hand as well.

"Lt. Ramius!" Natarle cried as she ran up with the few surviving members of the _Archangel's_ crew towards the Mobile Suits and the people near them.

"Ensign Badgiruel."

Badgiruel saluted her superior. "I'm relieved to see that you're alright."

Ramius returned her salute. "You as well. I'm pleased to see that you were able to protect the _Archangel._ You do realize that you saved our lives, right?"

Badgiruel nodded in confirmation.

"Indeed." Johanna replied as she stepped forward. "If you hadn't shown up when you did, Ensign Badgiruel, that CGUE might have very well destroyed the Strike, the Raven, the Z.A.M. Gundam, and the Wing."

"Yes, you may have saved those machines as well as us." Taikyu added as he came up as well.

At that moment, the cockpits of the four machines opened up and Aki', Chris, Kira, and Nisha all climbed out.

The _Archangel_'s crew stared in disbelief and shock at the four teenagers climbing out of the four top-secret Mobile Suits.

"Alright!" Chief Murodch said. "What's going on here? Those machines were piloted by four kids!"

"Lt. Ramius, Mrs. Dante, Mr. Itsuno, what is going on here?" Ensign Badgiruel asked.

The two were about to explain what happened when a man interrupted. "Wow, now this is a surprise."

A blonde-haired man wearing a purple EA flight suit wlaked towards the group. "I'm Lt. Mu la Flaga of the 7th Orbital Fleet."

The crew of the _Archangel_ returned the salute.

"I'm Lt. Murrue Ramius of Sector 2, 5th Special Division."

"Ensign Natarle Badgiruel of the same division."

"Johanna Dante of Morgenroete."

"Taikyu Itsuno of Morgenroete."

Mu nodded. "I'd like permission to come aboard. Who's in charge here?"

Ensign Badgiruel looked hesitant for a moment before answering. "The captain and all of the officers of this ship have all died in the explosions at the beginning of the attack."

"What?!" Murrue shouted in disbelief.

"Therefore, I believe that Lt. Ramius is now in command." Badgiruel said. "There about only a dozen or so of us left, mostly non-commissioned officers and workers from Morgenroete."

Mu sighed. "Oh man. What a disaster. In any case, permission to come aboard, Lt. Ramius?"

Murrue was in shock, but she responded. "…Yes…you can come aboard the _Archangel_. Sorry about that." She replied.

Then, she looked over at the four machines. "Mr. Yamato, Akira, Nisha, Chris, can you all come down here please?" Lt. Ramius asked the four.

All of them came down, earning murmurs of shock from the crew onboard. "They're kids!" "Kids were piloting those things?!" Countless phrases came around the three, but they ignored them.

Natarle was still mad from before about that. "Lt. Ramius, what is the meaning of this?! They are just children! How could you let children pilot those things?!" she demanded again.

"Natarle, they were all at the factory. These children wound up saving me and the people you see here. Don't be too hard on them. I am aware that these four are civilians. They are aware that they will be staying with us until the proper authorities can handle them." Lt. Ramius finally explained.

"And who are these four?" Mu asked.

Johanna answered this time. "The one who piloted the Strike is Kira Yamato and the pilot of the Raven is my nephew, Christopher Dante. Nisha Itsuno is the Z.A.M. Gundam's pilot and his cousin Akira Nishikama piloted the Wing. They all stumbled into the factory district when we were under attack. Thanks to their help, we were able to drive off four GINNS and that CGUE as well as protect the last four machines."

"What?! These four kids were able to defeat four GINNs?!" Natarle asked in shock.

"What happened to the G-unit pilots?" Mu asked.

"They were with the captain at the time of the attack and died as well." Natarle replied.

Mu then approached the four kids. "You four wouldn't happen to be Coordinators, would you?"

The crew of the _Archangel_ collectively gasped.

"Yes." The four replied.

A group of armed soldiers suddenly pointed their guns at the group of teenagers.

"Lower your weapons damn it!" Johanna shouted in a commanding voice, startling the soldiers. "They may be Coordinators, but they are _not_ with ZAFT, you trigger-happy idiots! If they were a part of ZAFT, they would have taken the Mobile Suits and left by now!"

"Lower your weapons men." Lt. Ramius ordered.

The soldiers hesitantly complied.

"Like it will do much good. These Blue Cosmos creeps don't even care about us Coordinators. To them, we are just 'monsters' and 'inhuman things'." Akira growled. Mu frowned at the kid's tone. '_Why does he hate the EA so much?'_ The older man wondered.

"Lieutenant, I would like an explanation." Natarle demanded.

"It's not that surprising, considering Heliopolis belongs to a neutral nation. It's only natural to find Coordinators who wish to avoid the war altogether living here. Am I right?"

"No, you're right." Kira answered. "Especially since I'm a first-generation Coordinator."

"Which means that your parents are Naturals." Mu noted. "What about you three?"

"And Lt. Ramius is right about me and my sister." Chris replied. "We're both second generation Coordinators and we were born in the PLANTs. But our parents, fearing that a war was going to break out, sent us to Heliopolis to live with our aunt and uncle shortly before the war broke out."

"So then, your parents are still living in the PLANTs?" Murrue asked.

Chris hesitated before finally speaking. "No…they died early in the war…"

"My family moved to the PLANTs to avoid war and be near my cousin and his family as well." Nisha replied.

Aki' just grunted once. "I was born here, just like Chris was, but not at a normal one. I was born in New Juneau instead."

Badgiruel stared as did a few other members of the crew before the silence was broken.

"I'm sorry for causing such a fuss." Mu said. "I was just curious, nothing more."

"So what do we do now?" Natarle asked.

"Now? Well, I've just been shot down and the Le Creuset Team is waiting for us outside. He's a persistent fellow, so he'll be waiting for us. Especially after the defeat you four gave him."

"Wait. You're saying that the pilot guy the four of us fought and managed to beat a short while ago was the ZAFT ace, Rau Le Creuset?" Chris asked in shock.

Mu nodded.

"How did we manage that?"

"I'd have to say it was a bit of skill and a lot of luck." Mu replied.

* * *

_Elsewhere_

_Aboard the _Gamow_…_

"D-equipment? Does Commander Le Creuset plan on storming a fortress or something?" Yzak asked.

Tao narrowed her eyes at the heavy equipment being loaded onto the GINNs. "Why would he need all of this stuff for just four machines in a neutral colony? It doesn't make any sense, really." She mused.

"What's gonna happen to Heliopolis?" Nicol asked, concern in his voice. Tao picked up the slight hint and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. _'So, he's feeling the same way I am.'_

"It's gonna be bad." Saul said as he watched yet another GINN being armed with heavy missiles. "A single misfire could cause massive damage to Heliopolis."

The white coat commander snorted at the mere idea. "He probably wants to destroy the colony, if you ask me." She noted.

"It serves them right then." Yzak said. "Calling themselves a neutral state. What a joke!"

"So, the people of Heliopolis should suffer for the crimes of the people who run the ORB government? For the crimes of something they weren't even aware of?" Saul asked before shaking his head. "Cause that's what's gonna happen with those heavy weapons."

Tao, Nicol, and Dearka didn't even say anything. Yzak just let out an amused snort, causing Tao to glare at him.

Saul sighed. "This whole situation really sucks."

No one dared to disagree with him.

But they were not aware of what Athrun was doing, or that he was disobeying orders…

* * *

_Elsewhere_

_The bridge of the _Archangel_…_

Lieutenants Ramius and la Flaga, Ensign Badgiruel, Johanna Dante, and Taikyu Itsuno all stood on the bridge discussing their situation.

"Alright. Here's what's happened. We've loaded up the last of the surviving supplies from Morgenroete. Chief Murdoch is currently overseeing the resupply of the Raven, the Strike, the Wing, and the Z.A.M. Gundam as well as the repairs for your Moebius Zero." Johanna reported.

"The Strike and Raven should be ready for combat in 10 to 15 minutes. The Wing should be ready a few minutes after, though I could get the crews to speed things up. The Z.A.M. Gundam will be able to join in this fight due to repairing a firing delay glitch that would have caused the missiles to not launch right away after the thrusters are ignited. Moebius however, that won't be ready for quite some time." Taikyu added.

"Thank you." Murrue replied as she sat in the captain's chair.

"So, what's our next move?" Johanna asked.

"Once the Raven, the Strike, and the Wing are resupplied, we'll leave before any more damage befalls Heliopolis." Murrue replied.

"So you're gonna rely on Kira, Chris, Nisha, and Aki' then?" Taikyu asked.

"What?!" Badgiruel interrupted. "You can't be serious about letting those kids pilot those machines again. Shouldn't Lt. la Flaga at least pilot one of those machines?"

"Have you taken a look at the OS of those machines?" Mu asked. "An ordinary human couldn't pilot those machines."

Badgiruel stared before speaking up. "But what about those Naturals who live in NASA? Couldn't they pilot those machines?" she asked

"NASA is not a nation who will do whatever is asked of them. So don't even think about it." Murrue warned.

"And before you ask about those kids changing the OS of the G-Units back to their original format, you should know that the original OS didn't really work all that well." Johanna replied.

"And don't ask us to re-write the OS for Naturals. That is not our specialty. We worked on the bodies of the machines, not the programming." Taikyu added. "So we're gonna have to rely on them for protection."

"I agree." Murrue said. "Without Lt. la Flaga's Moebius Zero, the Raven, the Strike, the Z.A.M. Gundam, and the Wing are our only means of defense against ZAFT's Mobile Suits. And the only ones who can pilot those machines are those four boys."

"But Lt. Ramius, we can't just allow four civilians, much less four children, to operate top-secret military hardware!" Badgiruel argued.

"It's a long way to the moon, and I highly doubt that we'll be able to get there without a fight." Mu said. "And without those machines, we're pretty much defenseless against Mobile Suits."

Ensign Badgiruel hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not argue back.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, Taikyu and I are going back to the hanger to see if we can get the crews to hurry up." Johanna said as she and Taikyu started to walk out of the bridge.

Murrue stood up next and also proceeded to leave. "Lt. la Flaga, you have the bridge. I'll go and talk to Kira, Chris, Nisha, and Akira about this."

* * *

Archangel's_ crew quarters…_

"No! I won't do it!" Kira said upon hearing what Lt. Ramius wanted from them.

Akira's reaction was far different though. "You want _us_ to fight for _you_?! The ones who killed my sister?! Forget it! I will not fight for people who believe that we are 'space monsters' and 'inhuman beings'!" the black-haired boy snarled.

He then turned and left for the hanger, leaving a shocked crew behind him.

Chris and Nisha, on the other hand, were not so sure on what to do. Chris really didn't want to get involved in the war that had taken so much from him, yet at the same time, his sister, his aunt, and his friends were all on board this ship and he had the power to protect them. Nisha felt that if he didn't get involved, more people would be lost, and his friends and father were on the ship as well and he felt he had to protect them. Ever since he lost his mother, he felt like doing something to try to prevent a second Junius Seven attack.

"Please, don't get us involved any more than you already have." Kira continued. "We know there is a war going on out there, but we don't want any part of it. That's why we chose to live here in a neutral nation."

"I'll do it." Chris replied.

Kira, Nisha, Liz, Tolle, and everyone else stared at him in shock, so he explained his decision.

"Now, I don't want you to think that I am calling you a coward Kira, because I'm not. But as long as my friends and family are on this ship and I have the power to protect them, I will." He then turned to face Ramius and continued. "But make no mistake; I will not fight against ZAFT offensively. I'll only fight to protect this ship and the people I care about onboard."

"I agree. As long as I have the ability to, I will protect those I care about as well. If I have to fight against ZAFT to do so, then I will." Nisha added as he walked up beside Chris as well.

"I understand. Thank you." Lt. Ramius said. "I suppose two is better than none."

_"Lt. Ramius. Report to the bridge at once!"_ a voice called over the com-line.

Ramius walked over to a nearby com-line panel and activated it. "What is it?" she asked.

Mu's voice answered. _"There are Mobile Suits approaching. We need you to get back up here and assume command. You're the captain now, remember?"_

A surprised look crossed her face. "I-I am?"

_"I may have the seniority, but I don't know the first thing about this ship. You do. So that makes you the captain."_ Mu replied.

Lt. Ramius sighed. "Very well then. Prepare the _Archangel_ for take-off. Order all hands to level one battle stations. Is your Mobile Armor ready?"

_"No. As you know, it's been damaged and needs repairs, so I'm out."_ Mu answered.

"Then Lt. la Flaga, please take charge of the CIC." Ramius then turned to face Chris and Nisha. "Chris, Nisha, get to the hanger and into one of the Mobile Suits. You two are going out."

"Actually, I could pilot the third machine." Liz said as she stepped forward as well.

Chris's response to his sister was simple. "NO!"

"But I'm a Coordinator too! I can pilot the other Mobile Suit!" Liz snapped back.

'I said no! Nisha and I will go out alone."

"That's suicide and you know it!"

"I don't care! I'd prefer risking my own life rather than let you go out there with me!"

"Enough." Lt. Ramius said, interrupting the fight. "If Kira does not want to pilot one of the Mobile Suits and if Akira is not willing to protect the ship, then I will allow you to pilot it if you wish to."

"You can't be serious!" Chris shouted.

"Unfortunately, we don't have any other choice." Ramius said.

"You people aren't being fair!" Kira said, fists clenched and shaking at his sides. "Fine. I'll do it!"

"Alright then. C'mon Kira, we don't have much time." Chris said.

Kira and Nisha nodded and the three of them sprinted to the hanger.

"Thanks Kira for changing your mind. If you hadn't, then my sister really would have piloted the Strike and risked her life out there." He then added, more to himself than to Kira "This war has taken too much from me already."

"There is the issue of the Wing though. Liz could still pilot it, so that means we need to convince Aki' to pilot it until safety can be reached." Nisha added.

"Doh!" Chris smacked his head at the reminder.

"Don't worry. I'll talk to him." Nisha said.

Chris nodded, hoping that Aki' would agree to it.

* * *

_Archangel hanger…_

Chris sat in the Raven's cockpit, his machine now in the port Mobile Suit catapult. Kira and the Strike were in the starboard catapult alongside him.

Johanna's voice then came over the radio. _"Alright Kira, we're equipping the Strike with the Sword Striker so we won't have a repeat last time."_ Then a pause came. _"Hold on a second."_

During that pause, Aki' and Nisha were arguing over whether he should pilot the Wing again or not.

"C'mon Aki'. Three machines aren't enough against the other six machines. We need you out there in the Wing. That machine is the only one that can stand up to the stolen Surge in speed. If you are out there, you can keep the Surge at bay while the rest of us take on the others." Nisha pleaded. "It may be the only way to keep the ship safe!"

The black-haired boy just glanced back, a glare visible in his golden eyes. "I said no Nisha! So back off! Why should I help these EA creeps anyway?!"

Aki' then turned to face Nisha. "Those Blue Cosmos idiots responsible for this war not only hated us Coordinators, but she was killed by **_50_** of those Blue Cosmos Naturals!" he snarled.

Nisha looked down, but did not back off. "I know…but…just do it until we reach safety, alright? Besides, I'll be fighting anyway…"

His cousin just growled before speaking again. "Fine…I'll do it. But _only_ because you're fighting as well, got it?!" Aki' snarled.

Nisha grinned as the black-haired Coordinator got into the Wing's cockpit.

_"There's six Mobile Suits incoming. One's the…Aegis? Okay, it's the Aegis and five GINNs armed with…WHAT?! Are they nuts?!"_ The alarm in Johanna's voice got the attention of all four boys.

"What is it?" Chris asked.

_"The GINNs are armed with heavy weaponry used for taking out heavily fortified bases! A single misfire could be disastrous for Heliopolis!"_

Kira gasped while Chris shook his head in shock. Aki' let out a growl over the radio and Nisha rapped his head with his hand as if trying to process the information. This was insane. How could ZAFT use such weaponry inside a civilian colony?!

_"Be careful and good luck."_ Johanna said as the catapult doors opened.

"Chris Dante, Raven, taking off!" Chris shouted just before the catapult activated, launching the Raven.

A moment later, the Strike launched as well.

_"Alright, you can launch any time Akira."_ Johanna said as the Wing was loaded into position next.

"Akira Nishikama, Wing, launching!" Aki' shouted as the Wing's catapult activated, sending out his machine into the blackness of space.

The Z.A.M. Gundam was out a moment later.

_'Well, let's try this Mobile Armor mode again…'_

Chris pushed the button to transform the Mobile Suit and a couple seconds later, found himself sitting in the cockpit of the bird-like mobile armor.

"Hop on Kira. We need to get rid of these guys before Heliopolis takes anymore damage."

The Strike landed on the back of the Raven and the two machines sped towards the five enemy Mobile Suits.

"Let's go, Aki'. They'll need back-up if those guys unleash those heavy-weapons on us."

Akira just growled at his cousin's comment, but he pressed the button to transform the Wing into its secondary form. A few seconds later, he found himself in the cockpit of a fighter-jet type alternate mode.

_'Nice secondary form…'_

_"Get on Nisha. You want to help them, right?"_ he asked.

Nisha grinned as the Z.A.M. Gundam landed on the Wing's back, prompting Aki' to speed towards the six oncoming enemy suits as well. When they had almost reached them, the three GINNs armed with heavy missiles broke off from the others and headed towards the _Archangel_.

"Kira, will you be able to fight these three by yourself while I deal with those three GINNs?" Chris asked.

_"Yeah, I think so."_

"Then hop off and good luck."

_"Hey! Don't leave us out of all the fun!"_ Nisha exclaimed as he and Aki' flew up alongside the other two pilots.

_"Leave two of those GINNs for us as well."_ Aki' said as he chose one as his target. _"Hop off Nisha. You're going to be helping Kira, got it?"_

_"You got it."_ Nisha replied as he hopped off the Wing's flight form.

The Strike leapt off the Raven and moved in to engage the remaining GINN and the Aegis with Nisha while the Raven and the Wing turned around and chased the GINNs.

The GINNs were fast, but the Raven and the Wing were faster in their Mobile Armor and flight modes. One of the GINNs, seeing the Raven catching up to it, turned around and fired a trio of missiles from its ankle-mounted missile pods. Chris opened fire with the Raven's shoulder-mounted guns at the missiles, destroying two of them and evading the third.

_'Not bad. But's it gonna take more than that to get rid of me.'_

The GINN then fired two of its large missiles and some of its ankle-mounted missiles at the _Archangel_. The ship performed evasive maneuvers as its point defenses opened fire, destroying the large missiles and dodging most of the smaller ones. The missiles that missed hit Heliopolis, further damaging the already damaged colony.

"Stop it!" Chris shouted as he transformed the Raven back into its Mobile Suit mode and fired its cannon at the GINN.

The GINN dodged the twin shots and fired off the last two heavy missiles and its remaining smaller missiles at him, before discarding the launchers and pulling out it's holstered rifle and firing. Chris fired both the arm cannon and the Igelstellungs, desperately trying to destroy as many of missiles as he could before they hit him or Heliopolis. He managed to destroy one of large missiles and a couple of smaller ones. He aimed at the second large missile and was about to fire when the GINN fired upon him, throwing his aim off and missing the missile. The missile impacted the central shaft of Heliopolis, damaging it.

"Are you trying to destroy Heliopolis?" he shouted as he turned and fired at the GINN.

The GINN dodged the first two pairs of high-velocity rounds, but the second shot of the third pair tore through its left leg, but unlike the last one, this one kept fighting rather than fleeing. Seeing no other option, Chris aimed and fired one last shot. The twin rounds tore through the GINN's chest and a second later, it exploded.

Chris barely registered fact that he had just killed someone. This wasn't the time to think about that. Heliopolis and the Archangel were still in danger.

* * *

Aki' barely even noticed the first GINN explode, as he was fighting his own battle at the exact same time.

He let out a grunt as he dodged a trio of large missiles that had been fired at him. Aware of the damage to Heliopolis, Aki' opened fire with the beam rifle, destroying all three missiles before they could cause even more damage to the colony or the _Archangel_.

_"You dumb Natural! Did you really think I would fall for such a simple ploy?!"_

Aki' gasped as he heard the enemy pilot's voice. The alarm bleeped from beside him, prompting the boy to yank back on the controls, just barely dodging another round of missiles. The missiles, having missed Aki,' impacted along the structure of the damaged colony, causing even more debris to float away from the impact sites. Some also hit the _Archangel_, causing burn marks on the white hull.

"Stop this! What are you trying to do?!" he cried.

A laugh from the enemy unit got his attention. _"Why, I am trying to wipe you out of course! Are you Naturals really that dumb? You make me laugh, Natural!"_

Akira snarled as he opened fire with the Wing's Igelstellungs at the enemy GINN. The other unit was impacted by the bullets fired, making Aki' smirk at the sight. Beneath him, the _Archangel_ was still under fire from the other two machines, as it unleashed its own firepower at the ZAFT Mobile Suits. The ship dodged a beam shot meant for the engines, only to fire back with its anti-aircraft guns. The shots missed, impacting the damaged colony even further.

The enemy GINN then came at Akira again, the pilot now enraged. _"You'll pay for that, you Blue Cosmos creep!"_ he snarled, sword out in front of his machine.

Suddenly, time seemed to stop for Akira.

He gripped the controls so hard his hands turned white from the effort and the pressure he was exerting on them.

Before him, something hovered, wrapped in a golden aura. He did not understand what it was, but thoughts were crashing through his head so rapidly that he could not focus on anything else other than he could not die.

Everyone he knew was counting on him. His cousin, his uncle, his friends, they were all counting on him. And yet he was going to fail, _fail_ after just beginning his mission! The faces of his friends, his cousin, and his uncle flashed before his eyes before a face he kept deep inside his mind came to the surface…the face of his most loved one…blue hair shining…red eyes sparkling…the care-free smile on her face…shattered.

Then, a feeling, something powerful, glorious, and horrific, came into being with each passing face. Akira saw an image of his loved one, bloody and covered in horrible wounds, as well, interwoven with those who needed him most, those who were reliant on him.

They would die if he died.

He could not die, not when his mission had barely even begun!

_'Damn it! I'm not going to die!'_

_'I'm not going to die!'_

_'I can't!'_

Then, his body began to burn as the thing he was seeing began to crack. His mind suddenly began to become clear as his body and mind began to go feel like it was going into some sort of overdrive. Akira could not comprehend the speed of what was happening to him, but he did not care. All that mattered was that he was not going to die.

Then, the thing broke. All of his humanity seemed to disappear, leaving only rage and anger at the enemy before him.

A rush of power filled Aki's body as the thing was absorbed and disintegrated by the feelings inside, released upon breakage.

_'I am not going to die!'_

Everything from then on was on sheer instinct. Aki' only cared about his survival and no one else's. No other considerations were made or came to mind either.

_'I have to live!'_

"RRRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Aki' let out a primal scream as he attacked the enemy GINN. He reached back, grabbing the beam saber, pulling it out, and igniting it all in one move.

The GINN fired three more large missiles at the Wing, but Aki' dodged them, slashing the tops off as he did so. The heat-seeking components missing, the missiles flew off course before blowing up.

"Don't EVER compare me to those Blue Cosmos BASTARDS!" Aki' snarled as he flew in close to the GINN. The GINN attacked with its sword, but, in a flash of movement, Akira had stabbed the GINN in the chest.

The ZAFT pilot, Andreas, barely registered the pain before he spoke. "What the…"

Those were the last words he ever said.

Aki' sat in his cockpit, panting from the adrenaline rushing through his veins. Sweat covered his face, making his hair stick to his wet skin, covering his eyes.

Tears streamed down his face as he let out a few quiet sobs in the empty closed space around him. Pain from old wounds died hard…

* * *

Nisha dodged a missile trio from the third GINN, grunting as he did so. _'Damn it all! Are they trying to destroy the colony?!'_

The GINN he was fighting pulled out its sword, forgoing all ranged weapons. Nisha smirked at this. _'Even if the Z.A.M. Gundam can't use its missiles near the colony, it still has beam sabers.'_

The Z.A.M. Gundam then pulled out one of its beam sabers and ignited it. In a flash of light, the two machines had matched sword on sword. Nisha grunted as he struggled with the controls of the Z.A.M. Gundam, hoping to get the upper hand.

In a underhanded tactic, the pilot of the GINN then had his machine's foot kick the Z.A.M. Gundam in the leg while the GINN's free hand went for the head. Metal sounded on metal as the Z.A.M. Gundam staggered backwards, Nisha trying to keep the machine upright.

"Damn him…" Nisha swore under his breath. The GINN ran at Nisha, but, in an unexpected move, the Z.A.M. Gundam raised its beam saber in a defensive move. The GINN's pilot was not aware of it until the beam had stabbed his machine through the side. Nisha, who had been looking away out of fear, looked back at his monitor, only to gape at the sight of the stabbed GINN.

A fireball consumed the GINN, making Nisha look away once more. He looked back again, only to stare at the remains before him.

The shock of killing someone set in, making his hands all sweaty as he gripped the controls tightly.

* * *

Kira wasn't fairing that well. The pilot of the GINN that was armed with the heavy cannon was firing like a maniac, not caring if he hit the Strike or Heliopolis. Didn't he realize that he was destroying people's homes every time he missed?! Kira had to stop him.

The GINN's pilot, Miguel, was growing angrier by the minute. He just couldn't seem to destroy the Strike and its Natural pilot. Adding to this was his embarrassment of his previous battle and defeat at the hands of the Strike. Miguel wanted payback.

"Get behind it Athrun!" he shouted over the radio.

Suddenly, the Aegis, which had stayed out of the conflict up until that point, lunged at the Strike from behind. Kira barely evaded the Aegis. But the second he did, Miguel fired at him again. Kira dodged the beam and struck back by throwing the Sword Striker's beam boomerang at the GINN. The GINN jumped over the boomerang and prepared to fire again. But Miguel didn't expect the boomerang to return, severing his machine's right leg. Before the pilot could retaliate, Kira struck, driving his large sword through the GINN's chest, cleaving the machine in two.

_"AAAAAAARRRRRGH!"_ Miguel screamed before his machine exploded.

Kira turned to face the Aegis, ready for anything. He wasn't sure off who the pilot of the Aegis was. He had seen whom he believed to be Athrun stealing the machine, but was that same person piloting the Aegis now?

_"Kira…Kira Yamato?"_ Athrun's voice came over the radio.

Kira gasped. It _was_ Athrun! His oldest friend had been part of the attack on his home and was facing him in combat!

_"So, it _is_ you, isn't it, Kira?"_

* * *

Chris chased after the remaining GINN, which was harassing the _Archangel_ at the moment. Nisha was right beside him to provide ranged fire if the need ever arose. However, before either of them could engage it, the GINN was hit by one of the _Archangel_'s Gottfrieds, destroying most of the GINN's waist and legs. Just before it exploded, the GINN released all of its missiles. The missiles flew wildly around before Nisha swore out loud.

_"Damn it!"_ he cursed as he squeezed the trigger on his controls. Chris stared in amazement as all the missile tubes on the Z.A.M. Gundam's chest opened all at once. Then, in a blaze of light and sound, all of the missiles were unleashed on the missiles of the GINN, each finding their mark. But, ultimately, there were not enough missiles to save the colony. Nisha let out a few more swears as he tried to get the Z.A.M. Gundam to release its leg missiles, but he was locked out of the firing program. The Z.A.M. Gundam's systems had overheated due to launching all of its chest missiles at once!

_"Fucking machine!"_ Nisha swore as Chris watched helplessly at the missiles impacting the central shaft of Heliopolis. The shaft broke in two, causing Heliopolis to start collapsing all around them.

"No…" Chris murmured as he watched his home of almost a year crumble into dust.

Suddenly, the effects of the massive vacuum that was being created violently pulled on the Raven. He struggled to control the Mobile Suit, but it was pointless. There was nothing he could to except sit back and pray that he would survive.

* * *

Nisha gasped as the Z.A.M. Gundam began to be pulled violently towards the vacuum of space itself. He tried to keep the machine in a stable position, but the vacuum proved to be too much for him. Nisha gulped and hoped that he would survive the ejection into space.

* * *

Aki' snarled as he tried to keep the Wing inside the now collapsing colony, but to no avail. The vacuum created by space was too much for the Wing's battery unit, and the Phase Shift armor went down. Suddenly, a piece of free-flying debris hit the machine on the side, the impact causing Aki' to hit his head on the side of the cockpit and black out…

* * *

"Athrun…Athrun Zala?" Kira said in disbelief. "Why…why are you here?"

_"You should talk."_ Athrun shot back. _"What are you doing in that thing?"_

Before Kira could answer however, parts of Heliopolis began to fall all around them. Kira looked around in horror. Heliopolis was tearing itself apart. A few seconds later, both Kira and Athrun found themselves being pulled violently outside the colony.

Kira screamed as he was pulled into space. He heard Athrun shout out his name before the Aegis was pulled out in a different direction.

* * *

_Aboard the _Gamow…

Saul, Tao, Dearka, Nicol, and Yzak all watched as Heliopolis broke apart.

"Heliopolis…" Nicol weakly murmured.

"Jeez...How the hell did Miguel and the others screw up so badly?" Dearka said.

"The council's gonna have Commander Le Creuset's head for this." Saul solemnly said. "There's no way he can get out of something like this without some form of punishment. Using D-Equipment inside a civilian colony. What was he thinking?"

Tao grunted once. "He was not thinking very clearly, that's for sure."

Everyone could not help but agree with her statement.

* * *

_A short while later_

_Newly formed Heliopolis debris field…_

Chris stared out at the debris field of what had been his home for a few days short of a year. But now it was gone. Nothing more than dust in the wind.

_"X3…Ra…05…Str…res…"_ A static filled call came over the radio.

A few seconds later, it came back, this time at full strength. _"X305 Raven, X105 Strike, please respond!"_

"This is the Raven." Chris replied over the radio. "Is that you, _Archangel_?"

_"Affirmative Raven._" The voice of Ensign Badgiruel answered. _"What's your status?"_

"Shaken, but I'm okay."

_"Can you see the Strike, the Wing, or the Z.A.M. Gundam?"_

Chris took a quick look around. He spotted the _Archangel_ in the distance, but could not see the Strike or the other two machines.

"No, I can't see them."

_"Very well then. Return to the ship."_

"On my way."

He started to make his way back to the ship while Ensign Badgiruel continued to call the Strike, the Wing, and the Z.A.M. Gundam. A few seconds later, Kira replied. _"Strike here. I'm fine."_

_"Do you have the ship' position?"_ Badgiruel asked.

_"Yeah."_ Kira replied.

_"Then return to the ship."_

_"Right."_

Meanwhile, Chris had made it about a third of the way to the _Archangel_ when he spotted a blinking light. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be a damaged Heliopolis lifeboat pod.

"_Archangel_, I've found a damaged lifeboat out here. I'm bringing it in." he called over the radio.

_"WHAT?! Who gave you authorization to do that?!"_ Badgiruel demanded.

_'You have got to be kidding me…'_

"I'm bringing this lifeboat in."

_"You can't just bring in a civilian lifeboat without proper authorization!"_

Chris just shook his head and pushed some of the buttons next to the radio, filling it with static. "What was that _Archangel_? You're breaking up. I didn't get that last transmission. You can tell me when I come aboard with the lifeboat."

He then turned off the radio, picked up the lifeboat and headed towards the _Archangel_.

_Elsewhere…_

* * *

The Wing drifted in space, not moving. The Phase Shift Armor was down, meaning that the power of the main battery used for the armor was drained. Inside the cockpit, Akira laid motionless, blood running down his face, the result of a head injury.

The Coordinator was unconscious due to the head injury combined with the fact that he was worn out from his SEED mode. In his mind, memories resurfaced, ones that he had tried so hard to suppress…

* * *

_"Those damned Naturals! How could Blue Cosmos do this?! And to an innocent Coordinator at that?!" A ZAFT official was angry at the sight before him and his fellow officers._

_Akira stared at the sight. His sister, the one who had been so innocent and interested in being a medic, was _DEAD?!_ The boy felt so many emotions, but rage, anger, and sadness were the main ones that were showing._

_Tears flowed down his face, the moment seeming so surreal, yet so real. '_Why?! Why did this have to happen to her?! WHY?!' _The young Coordinator thought. He wanted a reason, yet the ZAFT officials could not give him one. They just could not give him one…_

* * *

Akira opened his eyes slightly, the blood still fresh from his injury. The Coordinator looked over at the screen, and saw only the ruins of Heliopolis. The colony was destroyed…

Shock then flooded the boy's body. The devastation seemed too real to be there, but it was, right in front of him as well. Tears ran down his cheeks, making him feel even more upset. Why was this happening? WHY?! No answers ever came. A sick feeling emerged in the Coordinator's stomach, but he shook his head, hoping that the feeling would fade from him. It did not.

Clutching the controls of the Wing, Akira managed to get the Phase Shift armor back online due to the second battery unit. That taken care of, the boy flew around, trying to get a lock on the _Archangel_'s position. A beep from the radar told him that the ship had been found.

The ship located, Akira maneuvered the Wing towards the _Archangel_. His hands were shaking, the images of the broken colony embedded in his mind. Images of his sister's broken and battered form also came to mind, but Akira shook his head to shove the images from his memory. He needed to get back to the _Archangel _and that was all that mattered at that point…

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

Nisha stared at the debris around him as he flew towards the _Archangel_. The boy was shocked at what had happened, but he knew that getting to the ship was of great importance.

He checked the radar and saw the position of the _Archangel_ was nearby. Relieved, Nisha headed in that direction, tired and worn out from the day's events, but also saddened by the loss of his home for more than ten years.

* * *

I hope you all liked the chapter. Please read and review after reading. Reviews help me keep going and give me motivation to keep posting. Any flames will result in the flame being reported. Keep reviewing!


	5. Phase 4: Phase Shift Down

**Chapter four is up. I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, the feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

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* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

_January 25, C.E. 71_

_Aboard the Archangel_…

Chris laid on one of the bunks while Kira, Liz, and the others talked amongst themselves. He was tired at the moment and didn't really feel like talking. He was also wishing that he had not left his guitar in the professor's lab.

The ship suddenly shook for a moment.

"What was that?" Flay Alster asked.

Flay Alster, one of the people that had been in that lifeboat he had rescued. Chris wasn't all that crazy about her. Sure he found her physically attractive, but her personality irritated him. Stuck up people did that to him. If she wasn't so stuck up and wasn't arranged to marry Sai, he probably would have asked her out at some point.

"I think we're on the move." Chris said. "Where we're going, I don't know."

"Ah. Kira, Chris. There you are." Mu said as he entered the set of bunks they were sitting at. ""Both Murdoch and Johanna asked me to tell both of you that because we're so under-staffed, you two are to are responsible for maintaining your machines."

"Our machines?" Kira asked. "When did they become our machines?"

"I have to agree with Kira. Don't these machines belong to either Morgenroete or the Earth Forces?" Chris asked as he sat up.

"Technically, you're right. But for the moment, it's been decided that since you're the only ones who can use 'em, they're you machines."

"Sure, we piloted those machines twice but we're not soldiers." Kira argued.

"So the next time they attack and you refuse to pilot it, those will be your last words, huh?" Mu said.

"I have to agree with him, Kira. Until we get to an Earth Forces base and we can disembark, everyone here is in danger. And at the moment, we're the only ones who can protect the ship and the people on board." Chris said.

"He's right Kira. Both of you have the power to make a difference. Why not put it to good use? We have very little time, including time to think it over." Mu said before starting to walk away.

"Nisha has already agreed to pilot the Z.A.M. Gundam until we can reach an Earth Alliance base. Akira, I have no clue about though. But I hope he agrees to protect the ship as well." Mu added as he stopped.

"Excuse me sir." Sai said. "But where are we going?"

"To the nearby Eurasian military base, Artemis. Of course, we're likely to have some problems actually getting in." Mu answered before he left.

Chris sighed. "Well Kira, should we go down to the hanger?"

"This isn't...I..." Kira mumbled out before running off.

"Kira!" Tolle and Mir shouted.

"I'll go talk to him." Chris said.

"Hold on minute." Flay said. "You mean that you and Kira were piloting those mobile suits with two others?"

"Yes." Sai said. "You know how one of the mobile suits brought lifeboat you were on onto the ship? Well, the pilot of that mobile suit was Chris."

Flay turned to Chris "You? You were the one?"

"Yeah."

"But why would the two of you be piloting mobile suits?" she asked.

"Well, my sister, Kira, Nisha, Aki' and I are Coordinators." he replied. "And just to tell you, if you're one of those people who discriminates against Coordinators, then do us all a favor and don't say anything."

Chris stood up and headed towards the hanger.

* * *

Liz watched her brother walk away. Ever since their parents had died, he had become bitter towards people who discriminated again Coordinators or Naturals, or in the case of Blue Cosmos, utterly hated.

Of course, things had been different for the first month and a half after their parents died in a Blue Cosmos terrorist attack. During that time, he became angry at just about everyone and everything. He picked fights with just about anyone. Sometimes he won. Other times he didn't. She had feared that they'd find him dead in an alley before long. Then, about a month and a half after their parents died, their grandfather paid them a visit from Orb. His second night there, he took Chris out for a couple of hours. What was said and done was known only to those two. But when they returned, both were beaten up, although Chris was unconscious and in worse condition.

After that, Chris had begun to change. His anger at the world faded away. He stopped going out and picking fights with people. He still got into fights but now he only fought to protect himself and others.

Seeing the uncertainly in Flay's eyes, Liz spoke, "My brother, Kira, Nisha, Aki', and myself, may be Coordinators. But we aren't with ZAFT."

"The five of them are still one of us. Treasured friends." Mir said.

* * *

_Vesalius…_

Rau was not having such a good time, considering all that had happened in the past few hours. The explanation for Heliopolis's destruction was what the PLANT Supreme Council wanted, and Rau was going to give it to them. He looked over the five reports on the captured machines. The Diver's data had been sent to the 'Maverick Fleet', so he did not have it. Then, the man called up the reports about the Strike, Raven, Wing, and Z.A.M. Gundams. Those four would be a problem, especially the last two…

"I wonder what you are, my two friends…" he murmured. It was obvious to Rau that the last two machines were not of the GAT-X series, which meant that they were of unknown origins. Not many nations could build Mobile Suits like that. For a minute, ORB seemed to be the likely culprit. After all, they had the technology to do something like that, but then again, they had already started a Mobile Suit project, code-named "Astray". That ruled out ORB.

Then, a startling thought came to his mind. _What if _they_ were behind the building of the last two machines?!_ That brought fear to his body. Not many things scared Rau, but this did. Only NASA could scare Rau like this.

A voice cut into his thoughts. "Athrun Zala reporting, sir."

"Come in." Rau ordered. The Coordinator entered, wearing his ZAFT elite uniform. "The destruction of the colony is quite a predicament. That is why our talk was delayed." He turned to face Athrun, who was still standing by the door.

"Yes, sir. I am sorry about the last battle." Athrun replied.

"I have no intention of punishing you, but I would like to hear the reason for your behavior. This is not like you." Athrun frowned at the words, meaning that Rau had hit a nerve. "You were beside that machine when it was activated?" Rau asked.

"I apologize for that. Due to an unexpected incident, I was unable to report back quickly. The pilot of that unit is Kira Yamato. He is a schoolmate and friend of mine, from our childhood days on the Moon. I never thought I would meet him again like that. I had to be sure that it was him." Athrun replied.

"The war is full of irony." Rau said as he stood up from the chair. "It's not a surprise that you were shocked. He is a good friend of yours?" Athrun nodded. "If that is the case then, I will have to remove you from the next assault. I cannot have you freeze up when fighting an enemy like that." Rau said. "And I don't want to do it either."

"No, Commander, I-" Athrun was cut off.

"Despite the fact that you were once friends, he is now our enemy. We have to shoot him down. I hope you can understand what that will mean…" Rau began.

Athrun could not accept it. Kira had to be used by the Naturals. "Sir, Kira has to be a pawn used by the Naturals. He is smart, but also good-natured, and a little air-headed. He just needs to see what we are fighting for. He is a Coordinator after all. If I talk to him, I could bring him around." Athrun explained.

Rau observed him before speaking. "I understand, but…what if he doesn't listen?"

Athrun gulped, leaving the question in mid-air for a moment. He had to say it, even if he did not like it. "Then…I'll shoot him down."

* * *

_Archangel hanger…_

Kira stood before the Strike, the Z.A.M. Gundam next to it. Lt. La Flaga's and Chris's words echoed in his mind.

"Just because I can pilot a mobile suit, doesn't mean that I'm a soldier?" Kira asked himself.

"Of course it doesn't. Why would that make you a soldier?"

Kira turned to his left. It was Chris.

"You don't need to be a solider to pilot one of these things." Nisha's voice added. Both Chris and Kira looked up to see the other boy pop his head out of the Z.A.M. Gundam's cockpit.

"Kira, at the moment, both of us aren't soldiers. We're just two guys who are trying to protect what we care about." Chris said as he approached. "When we reached an EA base and can disembark, then we must decide whether to stay or to go, to become soldiers or to remain civilians. When that time comes, you will decide what you want to do for yourself, just as I will."

"Have you decided?" Kira asked.

"Actually, I haven't really thought about it. But do not think that what I decide is what you should decide."

"Well, I know I already have." Nisha replied from inside his machine.

Suddenly, alarms went off.

_"Silhouette detected. Enemy unit detected."_ a voice over the intercom said. _"All military personnel, report to your stations at once. Repeat..."_

"That was fast." Johanna said as she approached the two of them. "Well, come on you three. We need to get you three into some flight suits."

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

"Looks like we're heading into another battle." Sai commented as the alarms sounded.

"I wonder what Kira has decided." Mir said.

"If he refuses, our chances of surviving drop considerably." Sai said.

"Hey! My brother will protect us even if Kira doesn't!" Liz shouted at Sai.

"I didn't mean it like." Sai said in his defense. "I meant that the odds of our survival are greater if both Chris and Kira are fighting. And don't forget that Aki' and Nisha will too."

"We should do something." Mir said.

Everyone looked at her in confusion.

"We've been sitting on the sidelines and relying Kira, Aki', Nisha and Chris to protect us."

"If we have the ability to make a difference, then we should put it to use." Tolle said.

Liz, Sai and Kuzzey nodded in agreement.

* * *

_Hanger…_

Kira, Nisha, and Chris started putting on their flight suits. Kira was putting on a light blue one while Chris was wearing a midnight blue one. Nisha was zipping up the front of his green flight suit as well.

Kira had to admit, he was a little surprised that Tolle, Sai, Mir, Liz and Kuzzey had volunteered to help out aboard the ship. Though what was more surprising was that Chris was letting his sister help out, yet earlier he had been against her piloting the Strike.

"Hey Chris."

"Yeah?"

"Why weren't you against your sister helping out now?" Kira asked.

"Yeah, why is that?" Nisha asked as he closed the locker he was using.

"Well, the _Archangel_ is dangerously understaffed right now. So, she's actually safer if she helps out." Chris answered. "And she's still in the same amount of danger regardless of whether she's a part of the crew or not."

"Well, from the looks of things, you've made up your mind Kira." Mu said as he entered the room in his own flight suit.

"Yes." Kira said. "Like both you and Chris said, the four of us are the only ones that can protect this ship and everyone on board. Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not a soldier and certainly don't want to fight. All I want to do is protect the people on board this ship."

"It's the same for all of us." Mu said. "You won't find many people who fight merely for the sake of fighting. We fight because it's the only way to protect ourselves and what we care about."

"I know I am." Nisha replied.

"So what's the plan?" Chris asked.

* * *

_Aboard the _Gamow_..._

Saul Kessel sat in the cockpit of the Surge, waiting for the order to launch. He had to admit, he was excited to try out the Surge in actually combat. He had studied the machine and all of its capabilities. The Surge was easily the fastest of all the mobile suits. Hell, chances are, it's one of the fastest mobile suits ever made. It had a rival in the Wing. He could imagine the men and women of the infamous 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet under the command of the Black Hawk, desiring to get their hands on this machine, or any of the other mobile suits from Heliopolis for that matter.

Scratch that. The Black Hawk had been dead for months. His older sister, Diana Kessel, was the 11th Fleet's commander now.

Saul shuddered at the thought of his older sister. She was the complete opposite of him. Where he was rather lazy, calm, and quiet, she was a real slave driver. Loud, uptight, forceful, and about a dozen other unpleasant words he could use to describe her. She was also a skilled hacker, though much to her annoyance, not as good as him.

Regardless of its commander, the 11th Fleet was still the same outfit. A group of pilots that varied from extremely professional soldiers to soldiers, that if they had been in any other group in military, they would have been kicked out of the military or thrown in a military prison. All and all, they were a wild and unpredictable group of soldiers, who had only two things in common: a tremendous loyalty to their commander, both his sister and the late John Alaric. And their mobile suits. The machines they piloted were a bunch of heavily customized GINN High Maneuver Types, in fact, it was said that no two mobile suits were exactly the same. All aboard a trio of customized _Nazca_-class vessels. But that's who the men and women of the 11th Fleet were. A group of wildly different soldiers who piloted non-standard, customized machines. And they were the most feared and respected space-based unit in ZAFT.

"Mobile suit pilots, prepare for launch." the _Gamow'_s Combat Operator said over the radio.

He was up first. Saul moved the Surge onto the catapult. He received the green light to take off.

"Saul Kessel. Surge takin' off."

The catapult activated, the g-forces pushing him back into his seat as the Surge was launched into space.

_'Time to try this baby out.'_

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

A squad of three _Nazca_-class ships hovered nearby, the famed Le Creuset team unaware that they were being watched. A male form smirked as he looked at the famous team trying to accomplish an almost impossible mission. "So, they are trying to destroy the legged ship, eh?" he chuckled. "Good luck with that, you snake of a man."

"Sir, we are standing by to interfere if need be." A female voice replied. Aisha Nihao was a First-gen Japanese-American Coordinator with blue eyes and green hair. A few days after the Junius Seven attack, she had left NASA to join ZAFT as a green coat and was assigned to the 7th Independent Mobile Fleet. Calculating and intelligent, Aisha was invaluable as a tactical officer.

Her commanding officer just nodded at the news. "Very well. If anyone can defeat that man…it is this ship. If they can stay alive long enough that is…"

A red coat just grunted once. Heidi Matthews, a second-gen Coordinator, had blonde hair, dark skin, and green eyes that seemed to be cold and uncaring, but that was only because of the hatred she had been shown in her home nation, the Advance European Union Alliance. Underneath the façade, she was just a scared girl who had never been treated as a real human being. She was actually very sweet. After her mother's death by officials in the SAF, she and her father had moved to NASA to get away from the anti-Coordinator influence they had experienced there. And the attack on Junius Seven had only reinforced her hatred of the EA. Heidi wore the male pants instead of the skirt that Aisha wore as well. She looked back at her commanding officer, a cold look in her eyes.

"Are you sure we should be doing this? After all, we are helping the Earth Alliance's enemy." She growled.

A glare from the man in charge made her back down. "We need to prevent this war from getting out of hand. True, if we get involved on any other side other than ZAFT, it will get more out of hand, but it will bring the war to an end sooner." He replied.

Red coat Josh Ajaxi smirked. With unruly white hair, slightly tan skin, and grey eyes, he was one who liked to mess around and was also the most laid back member of the crew yet. A first-gen Coordinator, he had been born in NASA like Aisha. Having moved to the PLANTs when he was eight, Josh had joined ZAFT after one of his friends had been killed in the Junius Seven attack.

"And the sudden changes in sides will confuse that snake Le Creuset even more, as if he is not already confused enough." Josh snickered.

White coat Tao White stood on the bridge as well. Like Heidi, she was a second-gen Coordinator, but she was born in NASA like Josh and Aisha. She had joined ZAFT before the Junius Seven attack, but by the time the attack had occurred, she was already a white coat. Calculating like her father, Tao was a strategic prodigy on the battlefield. Very few survived her attacks more than once. Her blue-grey eyes were partially concealed by her messy black hair.

"Josh is right. The attacks will confuse Le Creuset and he will become nervous. But it could also backfire on us, meaning that the snake will attack us, believing us to be an enemy of the PLANTs. And that is something we wish to avoid at all costs, if at all possible." Tao reminded them.

The final person in the room, Araiya Wolfe, just sighed. A first-gen Coordinator, she had pale green eyes and long purple hair that was tied back in a ponytail. Having been born in the Oceania Union Alliance, Araiya and her family had fled when she was five years old due to attacks on her home occurring more than once. Leaving the nation a few months shy of her sixth birthday, Araiya and her family had entered the Japan Special Economic Zone of NASA and took the next flight out to the PLANTs. She was six by the time they arrived in the colonies.

Araiya had been a white coat for a few months by the time the Junius Seven attack had occurred. Outgoing and friendly, she made friends easily, but on the battlefield, she was a fearsome Mobile Suit pilot who had a knack for reading the enemy's moves and had earned the title of 'Best Pilot'.

"Even if we were to get involved, I doubt Le Creuset would let us get away. He and the Supreme Council have been trying to get us charged with treason for three months now." Araiya reminded them.

The air was filled with tension, the crew members knowing all too well what fate awaited them if they were caught.

"We are not the 'Maverick Fleet' as those idiots in ZAFT call us. We know who we truly are, and we will follow through with our ideals no matter who we may side with. Do not forget why we came together, or our reasons for fighting." The commander replied.

"Yes, sir!" they all said, saluting him as they did so.

* * *

_Archangel's hanger…_

Chris sat in the cockpit of the Raven, waiting for the order to launch. Lt. La Flaga had taken off a few minutes ago. And soon, he, Nisha, and Kira would be launching.

_"Load the Aile Striker onto the Strike."_ his aunt's voice called over the radio.

_'Hmm...Aile Striker. That's a new one.'_

_"Kira, Chris, Nisha."_ Miriallia said over the radio as her face appeared on one of screens on the console.

_"Miriallia?"_ he heard Kira say over the radio.

"_From now on, I will act as the combat operator for the mobile suits and the mobile armor."_ Mir said. _"I'm counting on you three."_

"Don't worry Mir." Chris said. "We're not gonna let anything happen to the ship."

_"You can count on us, that's for sure. We'll show this crew that we're not with ZAFT and help you make it out."_ Nisha replied. "_That's the best way to get them to respect us as human beings._"

The ship suddenly shuddered slightly as the Lohengrins fired blindly at the _Nazca_-class ahead of them.

The catapult doors opened up.

_"Kira Yamato. Strike Gundam launching."_ Kira said before he took off.

_'Gundam? Interesting name. Taking the first letters of each word in the name of the OS. Wish I had thought of that.'_

"Chris Dante. Raven Gundam taking off."

The catapult activated, propelling him forward and into space.

_"Nisha Itsuno, Z.A.M. Gundam ready."_

_"There's five mobile suits incoming."_ Ensign Badgiruel said over the radio. _"One from the front, four from the rear. It's the Aegis, the Blitz, the Surge, the Duel and the Buster."_

"Okay Kira, Nisha, we're outnumbered, so I think we should stay near the Archangel. That way, they can provide us with some support."

_"Right."_ Kira replied.

_"You got it."_ Nisha responded.

* * *

The Surge, the Blitz, the Duel and the Buster streaked through space.

"Looks like Athrun's gonna beat us there." Saul said to himself. "Hey Yzak."

_"What?"_

"Athrun's gonna be by himself for a while against those two machines, waiting for us to get there. I'm going ahead to help him."

_"What? What are you talking about? You can't get there any faster than the rest of us."_

Saul smirked. "Do you know why my machine is called the Surge?"

_"What? What does that have to do with anything?"_

"Let me show you." Saul said before hitting the throttle to max.

The Surge's thrusters kicked in, causing the mobile suit to literally surge through space towards the Archangel while the g-forces were pushing Saul back into his seat.

_'Wow! I knew this thing was fast but...wow!'_

A few minutes later, he arrived just after Athrun arrived. Athrun went after the Strike. The second machine, the Raven, moved to help its comrade. Saul wasn't about to let Athrun get double-teamed. Saul aimed and fired a trio of warning shots at it. He wasn't about to destroy the Raven when it wasn't even aware of him. That was something cowards and snipers did. Not him.

The Raven stopped, turned to face him and opened fire with its dual railgun. But Saul, using the Surge's superior speed, dodged with every shot, and returned fire with his beam rifle. Both machines avoided the other's shots as they fired.

_'Hmm...This guy's good. Let's try this.'_

The Surge's left arm shot up and fired its _Hakenfaust_ piercer claw. The Raven dodged the claw and transformed into its mobile armor mode and opened fire with its machine guns as it flew towards him. Saul dove to the left, dodging most of the shots and the few that did hit him, barely scratching the phase-shift armor.

The Raven flew past him. Saul spun the Surge around and fired again as the Raven turned for another pass. Saul fired his rifle at it. The Raven dodged but oddly enough, didn't return fire. It was almost upon him, when its bird-like feet angled up bit and short energy blades activated in the center of its feet.

_'Shit!'_ Saul thought as he barely managed to fly up and avoid it.

The Raven flew past him and transformed back into its mobile suit mode. Then it spun around and fired it's railgun at him again.

_'Why don't we try something a little different?_' Saul thought as he dodged the shots.

He holstered his rifle and drew his swords and charged as fast as he could get the machine to go. The Raven managed to draw both of its beam swords and block his attack and pushed him back.

"You're pretty good." Saul said over radio to the Raven's pilot. "I'm a little surprised that a Natural could pilot a mobile suit so well."

_"I'm not a Natural."_ the pilot replied.

From the sound of his voice, the pilot was probably around his age.

_"I'm a Coordinator. Same with the pilots of the Strike and Z.A.M. Gundam."_

Now this really surprised him. "What? Why are you three fighting on an Earth Force warship?"

_"A rather long story."_ the pilot answered. _"The short answer is that my family and friends, who are civilians, are on board that ship. So I'm simply protecting them."_

Saul had to admit, that was a very good reason. Hell, he'd do the same thing in his position.

"Sorry to hear that. It's nothing personal but I got my orders. And I won't insult you by holding back." he said.

_"Same here."_

At that moment, Yzak, Nicol and Dearka arrived.

"Nicol, go help Saul with that machine. Dearka, you get the ship. I'll help Athrun." Yzak ordered.

The Blitz appeared and fired at the Raven, causing it to back off.

_"Saul, you alright?"_ Nicol asked.

"I'm fine."

_'Sorry buddy, but I got a job to do.'_

* * *

_Archangel Hallway…_

Akira looked out at the two Mobile Suits that were headed out into combat. Even though he had said he would fight, the boy did not actually mean it. Fighting for the EA was not was what he was going to resort to…

Then, the Coordinator saw the ZAFT ships heading towards the Archangel. He knew that those were two of the most fearsome, due to the one that they were under the command of.

_'Le Creuset…_' Akira thought bitterly. The man was sneaky and shrewd in his own right, and that was what made him so scary and formidable. He was also Akira's rival squadron's commanding officer for ZAFT. "Looks like I have to head out…" the boy muttered.

He reached the pilot locker room, and took out a red and white pilot suit. Once Akira had put it on, he picked up the helmet and headed for the hanger. He put on the helmet and drifted into the cockpit of the Wing.

_"Okay, Akira. You are set to launch."_ Mirillia said.

"Akira Nishikama, Wing, launching!" he shouted as the Wing roared down the catapult towards the end. The door open, the machine flew out and sped off to reach the battle site he was assigned to.

Akira snarled in anger, but he had a job to do. The Wing soon had reached the end of the ship and was primed and ready for a fight.

Not a moment too soon, the Duel came up to the ship from the front. Akira felt his blood pulsate with rage at the enemy. _'If they call me a Blue Cosmos supporter one more time, I WILL kill them!'_ He reminded himself.

"Let's see how the Wing handles space combat…" he muttered as he got the weapons systems online. The other pilot had no idea what he was up against.

* * *

Yzak growled as he looked at the newest arrival. It was a new machine, no doubt used by the enemy. "So, that is the famous machine that eluded our intelligence. Doesn't look like much." The silver haired boy scoffed.

_"Don't let that exterior fool you. I heard from the commander that it is supposed to be the fastest of the group."_ Nicol replied.

_"Yeah, against such a machine, it will be hard for you to win that fight."_ Dearka added.

"Relax guys. That machine is nothing when compared to us. We _are_ ZAFT elites after all." Yzak sneered. Nicol was not so sure about that though. Considering how the pilot had fared against the commander, it seemed possible that the Wing's pilot was also a ZAFT elite pilot. "On second thought, I'll take this new machine. Dearka can help Athrun after he takes down the ship."

But, the combatants were unaware of the observers watching their very battle…

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

Unbeknownst to the combatants, a modified CGUE and a pair of modified GINNs armed with sniper rifles, observed the from afar.

"So those are the new mobiles and the legged ship from Heliopolis." Commander Diana Kessel said as she watched fight. "Quite impressive."

_"Yeah. Those guys at Orb sure know how to make some sweet looking machines."_ Ajay Cortez drawled.

_"Indeed."_ Lucius Raveshaw said. _"Though I have to wonder if getting these machines was worth the destruction of Heliopolis."_

_"Yeah. They should have sent us. Not that masked pansy Creuset and those little boys."_ Ajay said.

"May I remind you, Ajay, that one of those 'little boys' is my younger brother?" Diana said to her subordinate.

_"Sorry ma'am. Didn't mean anything by it ma'am."_ Ajay quickly said to avoid angering his commander.

"Don't worry about it. My younger brother is a lazy, foolish child. But he also happens to be about the only one who can tell what exactly happened to Heliopolis."

_"You suspect that Creuset will lie about the events that led to the destruction of Heliopolis then?"_ Lucius, her right-hand man, asked.

"Through his teeth. Creuset is nothing but a snake." Diana answered. "He'll tell Zala what happened, then Zala will manipulate the facts and make ORB and the Earth Forces look like the villains while Creuset becomes the commander who tried everything to prevent Heliopolis's destruction."

_"What'd you expect from a couple of snakes them?"_ Ajay said in disgust. _"It's cause of them and that traitor that the commander's gone."_

All three of them were quite for a moment.

_"Sir. Should we get involved in this battle?"_ Lucius asked.

"No. We'll watch and see how things play out."

* * *

_Battle site…_

Akira snarled as he detected the Duel behind him. The bleeping alarm made it hard to miss anyway… "Damn it!" he snarled. In a flash, the Duel was up against his machine.

The Coordinator pushed the throttles back, and the Wing moved away from the Duel almost immediately. The pilot of the Duel was not too happy about the maneuver, so he tried to attack with the beam rifle. Akira just dodged the beam shots using the Wing's high maneuverability, so the shots each missed him.

_"Damn you! You Blue Cosmos scum will not get away with this!"_ the enemy pilot cried. That proved to be his biggest mistake ever…

Akira stopped at that comment. Everything seemed to slow down for him as he gripped the controls so tightly, he risked hurting his hands. Tears began to well up and threatened to run down the sides of his face.

* * *

Yzak stared, wondering why the enemy had suddenly stopped. What was going on?

* * *

_Minako laughed as Akira laughed. Even though he was only five, he already knew that his sister would be around forever. At least, she would to him. Then, her face shattered in a flurry of broken glass to reveal Minako's broken and battered form. One of her arms was missing as was part of her upper chest…_

* * *

Akira looked up, tears now running down his face. The golden seed fell out of nowhere again, only to explode against his mind's barrier. All other emotions except for rage were pushed aside, just as the Duel began to attack again.

"YOU BASTARD! I _WILL_ kill you so hard, you will beg for mercy, even _AFTER _death!" Akira screamed. He then grunted as he shoved the controls forward so hard it made the machine shudder.

The engines kicked in, the extra battery pack online. In a rush of speed, the Wing took off so fast, it seemed like a blur of speed. In outer space, it actually was too.

* * *

Yzak stared as the enemy machine took off so fast, he could not get a lock on it. The thing was so fast, it seemed to not even be there!

* * *

Akira opened fire with the beam rifle, but the Duel just blocked with its shield. Growling out loud, Akira then looked over the Wing's specs again and decided on something that had a little more power: the Hellfire mini-missiles.

The back of the Wing shifted as two slots opened up on the back thrusters. At the same time, twin missile launchers swung into place on the shoulder area, one per side.

"Let's see how you like THIS!" Akira screamed as his machine opened fire, missiles speeding out towards the Duel. The pilot had obviously not been expecting that, so he had a hard time avoiding the missiles. The ones he did avoid however, hit his shield instead of completely missing.

"DAMN YOU!" Akira cried as he flew at the Duel. The opposing machine avoided the first beam shot, only to get a beam saber to the side. The golden blade was hard to miss in the blackness of space anyway.

The Duel got out its beam saber as well, and a sword to sword fight ensued. The Wing dodged a slash by the Duel, but the Wing did not miss when it came to the other machine. The slash hit the shield instead, however.

* * *

Yzak grunted as he blocked the slashes. Those mini-missiles had been hard to dodge enough, but the close combat skills of this machine were way above what he had been expecting. It was as if the enemy pilot was a Coordinator…

He shook his head. There was no way that the enemy was a Coordinator, was there?

* * *

Akira dodged another slash, and tried to get around the shield. "RRRRAAAAAHHHH!" he cried. The Wing tried to slash at the chest of the Duel, but once again, he hit the shield instead.

"There is no WAY that I am letting you insult me like that!" the Coordinator snarled as he fired the beam rifle again. The beam shots missed the cockpit once again, but the impact of one shot managed to damage the Duel's shoulder.

This fight was about to get even more intense soon…

* * *

Chris dodged the energy blasts from the Surge and the Blitz and returned fire as best he could.

_"Strike, Raven, where are you? We need assistance."_ Ensign Badgiruel said over the radio.

"Little busy right now. Besides, isn't Nisha there to help you out?" Chris replied as he dodged attacks from the Blitz and the Surge while returning fire.

_"He's fighting the Buster."_ Miri replied.

* * *

True to her words, Nisha had to fight the Buster. The two machines were made for heavy-firepower, so it seemed to be a tie.

The Z.A.M. Gundam, however, had a little secret of its own. As the Buster got closer to finish off the machine, the Z.A.M. Gundam dodged the blasts!

Despite its heavier frame, the machine was still pretty fast, mostly because the frame was lighter than most. Nisha grinned to himself, but deep down, he still knew that the Z.A.M. Gundam was still slower than most machines.

That was why he had to finish off the Buster and soon too. As the Buster attacked, Nisha was able to have the Z.A.M. Gundam move out of the way of the other machine.

A beam shot from the Buster's beam rifle flew at the other machine, but Nisha blocked with the shield. The beam bounced off harmlessly, leaving the Z.A.M. Gundam intact.

_"Not bad." _The Buster's pilot remarked as he moved his machine back. "Hmph." Nisha was not impressed. The other pilot did not know that Nisha did not care for any compliments in battle. It was the wrong thing to do because it could lead to one's death in combat.

The Buster flew at the Z.A.M. Gundam, just as the many missiles prepared to fire from the machine. The warheads left the Buster, streaking towards the Z.A.M. Gundam. It seemed that the impact would be grand, but then things slowed down for Nisha as they had before.

Each of the missiles seemed to be moving slowly instead of fast. Nisha had a feeling that the slowness was his advantage, so he struck back. Getting out his beam saber, Nisha flew to attack the missile assault. He flew around, slashing at any missile he could see. All the while, no one seemed to be aware of what was happening. That is until, the world seemed to return to normal speeds. Nisha found himself at the receiving end of a beam rifle, the Buster's.

_"I don't know how you were able to avoid and destroy all of those missiles, but you won't be able to do that again."_ The enemy pilot remarked. Nisha just remained silent as he flew backwards and away from the Buster.

A few missiles from the Z.A.M. Gundam's leg launchers flew at the Buster, impact being made with the shield. The Buster flew away, no doubt in disgust at having lost to a supposed 'Natural'.

* * *

Akira, meanwhile, was still fighting the Duel. The enemy pilot was attacking in a rage, just as Akira himself was.

The two machines seemed to dance around one another, trying to get a direct hit. But the Wing was a hard machine to even graze. Yzak snarled as he tried to land a hit on the Wing's wing. The other machine just dodged easily.

"Stay still!" the silver-haired boy growled. The Wing refused to comply. Instead, the machine's pilot attacked with the beam rifle again. The shot hit the Duel's shield with little to no damage.

"RRRRRAAAAAHHHHHH!" Akira let loose a primal scream as he slashed with everything he had. The Duel's shield absorbed some of the impact before actually breaking in half!

_"WHAT?!"_ Yzak could not believe what had just occurred. The Duel had no shield to defend itself with! "GRRRRR!" he snarled as he felt the need to get even. The Duel left to attack the Strike, just as the Wing's pilot finally settled down…

* * *

_"Need help Athrun?"_ Yzak asked.

"Yes, thanks." Athrun replied as he moved away from the Strike, only to have Yzak fire on it as he did so.

It had been a much needed break too.

* * *

Chris didn't know how much longer they were gonna last. He was barely holding out against one of the enemy machines. Now was forced to fight two of them at the same time. And these guys weren't like the GINNs from before. The machines were the counterparts to the Strike and his own machine, which meant that these machines were superior to the GINNs.

Both the Blitz and the Surge fired their claw weapons at him. Chris dove to avoid them and fired a few more rounds from his railguns at them. Suddenly, there was a warning beep sounded through the cockpit. It was his ammo indicator. He had only eight rounds left, which meant four shots and he was out.

"Damn. Gonna have to be careful now." he said to himself. "I can only fire when I'm absolutely certain I'll hit something."

The Blitz lunged at him with its beam sword. Chris parried the blow with his right sword and kicked the Blitz back. The Surge took this moment to attack with its solid swords. Chris managed to move out of the way. At that moment, a text message appeared on the Raven's console.

_Preparing to fire Lohengrins. Watch out._

Chris took a quick look around. Kira was both fighting the Aegis and the Duel. Both he and Kira were out of the danger zone.

A few moments later, the Lohengrin cannons emerged and fired. The two massive streaks of energy raced towards the location of the _Nazca_-class.

_'Looks like Lt. La Flaga succeeded.'_

Which meant that the _Nazca_-class had taken serious damage and would likely fall back and recall the mobile suits.

Suddenly, a pair of stray shots from the Strike flew past him.

"Hey Kira, watch where you're firing. You're gonna either hit me or drain your battery."

_"Sorry."_ Kira said he aimed at the Aegis and fired.

Only to have nothing come out of the rifle. A moment later, the Strike's phase-shift armor deactivated.

_"No! I'm out of power!"_ Kira shouted.

At that moment, the Duel raised its rifle and aimed at the Strike.

"Hold on Kira!" Chris shouted as he transformed the Raven into its mobile armor form raced towards the powerless Strike.

Not too far off, Aki' noticed the same thing. "Damn it all!" he swore as he flew towards the powerless machine as well.

At the same time, the Aegis also transformed and sped towards the Strike. It became a race to see who would get there first, the Raven, the Aegis, the Wing, or the Duel's beams.

The Duel fired as the Aegis, the Wing, and the Raven neared the Strike.

The Wing and Raven were the winners. Their hands and talons grabbed onto the shoulders of the Strike and pulled it out of the path of the beam. Chris turned the Raven towards the Archangel with Aki' following the same path. The Blitz and the Surge fired at them, but he dodged their shots, barely. The Aegis however, was still hot on their trail. But thankfully, it wasn't firing at them as well.

_'Why is that? One good shot and we're dead. So why isn't he firing?'_

_"Get re-equipped with the Launcher Striker. I'll handle these guys."_ Aki' snarled over the com-line as Chris brought the Strike near the ship.

"_Archangel_. The Strike's out of power and I don't have much power left either. Launch one of the Striker Packs or we're gonna be screwed."

* * *

Athrun Zala stared at the Strike and the Raven, unsure of what to do. The soldier in him was saying fire at the Raven and the Wing. But if he did that, the Strike would be caught in the explosion. But without its phase-shift armor, the Strike would likely be heavily damaged, if it survived at all. If he fired at the Raven or the Wing, Kira would likely...

_"Athrun! What are you waiting for? Shoot them down!"_ Yzak shouted.

Athrun couldn't fire. Not at Kira anyway.

_"Dammit! I'll do it myself!"_ Yzak shouted as he aimed his rifle, preparing to fire it's grenade at the three mobile suits.

_'No! Kira...'_

Yzak was about to fire when suddenly, there was a loud _"YEEHAW!"_ followed by a barrage of beams that flew at the Duel.

Most missed, but a few hit their mark, stunning Yzak. Everyone looked up. It was a Moebius Zero.

* * *

Chris heard a warning alarm go off in his cockpit. Someone had a target lock on him.

_'Dammit, dammit, dammit...'_

Akira let loose several colorful words from his radio as the Wing's cockpit alarm also went off.

Suddenly there was a loud _"YEEHAW!"_

It was Lt. La Flaga. Chris breathed a sigh of relief.

_"Get the Strike lined up with the Archangel so they can launch the Launcher Striker. I'll cover you."_ La Flaga said.

"Right. Thanks."

_"Don't mention it. Now get going."_

Chris didn't need to be told twice. He pushed the Raven's engines to the max draining most of the remaining battery power as Aki' flew off to deal with the other machines. One of the Archangel's catapults opened up. Chris turned the Raven and lined up both machines with the catapult.

"End of the line, Kira." Chris said as he released the Raven's grip on the Strike and flew away from the Strike.

_"Thanks Chris_." Kira replied as he released the Aile Striker from the back of the Strike.

The Launcher Striker launched from the Archangel towards the Strike. Kira quickly attached the Launcher Striker, reactivated the phase-shift and started firing at the enemy mobile suits.

* * *

Saul watched as the recharged Strike fired at them Everyone managed to dodge the shots, save for Yzak, who lost the right arm of his machine in the blast.

_"Damn it!"_ Yzak cursed.

_"Yzak, we need to retreat."_ Athrun said.

_"WHAT?!"_ the other pilot shouted at the top of his lungs.

_"The Vesalius has been damaged. And we're starting to run low on power."_

_"I agree with Athrun."_ Nicol said. _"If we don't fall back soon, it will be our turn to run out of power."_

"Yeah." Saul said as he glanced at his. "I'm running on fumes as it is. We should fall back."

* * *

Chris breathed another sigh of relief as he watched the five enemy mobile suits retreat.

They had won. Chris found himself wondering how much longer these guys were gonna be chasing them.

Something told him that they weren't going away any time soon.

* * *

_"Wow. Even with a five to two mobile suit advantage, they still couldn't even destroy one mobile suit."_ Ajay said. _"That's sad. Real sad."_

_"Perhaps that's a testament of the skill of the pilots of two mobile suits and the crew of the ship."_ Lucius said.

"Perhaps. Or perhaps it was just luck." Diana said. "We're returning to the _Odin_."

_"Yes ma'am."_

_"Yeah boss."_

* * *

I hope you liked the battles here. And there will be more involvement from the 7th Fleet soon. Please read and review! And any flames will be reported and/or deleted. Constructive criticism is appreciated too. Let me know what you think!


	6. Phase 5: Vanishing Gundam

**Chapter five is up. I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**There will be some major divergences from the main storyline in canon and in SEED: A Retelling, even though this is based off Akatsuki-Leader13's fic.**

**The Earth Alliance will also not have all members be anti-Coordinator.**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, the feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

**Read and review please!**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

_January 25th, C.E. 71_

_Outer Space…_

_Onboard the Vesalius…_

"Damn it!" Yzak shouted loudly. "There were _five_ of us and only four of them, yet we still lost!"

Yzak needed to learn some anger management skills, that much Saul knew. He continued to watch the other boy complain about their loss.

Then Yzak grabbed Athrun and pushed him against the locker walls. "Why did you not open fire when you had a clear shot?! HUH?!" Saul was also puzzled. Athrun had had a large window of opportunity to take out both machines, yet he didn't.

"Stop it, Yzak!" Nicol cried. "The enemy is out there, not in here!"

Yzak just shoved Athrun away from him, still pissed about the loss. "It's because of him that we lost to _four Naturals_!"

Saul sighed. "You're underestimating Naturals once again, Yzak. But it's not like that matters now anyway." He faced his teammates. "Those pilots were not Naturals. They were actually Coordinators. That would explain as to how good they actually were."

Nicol, Dearka, and Yzak all stared in shock while Athrun just looked away from them.

"NO WAY! You mean I fought a _Coordinator_?!" Yzak shouted.

"How can you be so sure about that info?" Nicol asked. Saul just looked at him. "The pilot of the Raven told me himself." he explained.

Yzak just snarled in anger. "So Coordinators were piloting those things. We'll just take them out then." He growled.

"Those were our orders to begin with." Saul reminded Yzak, who just snarled at the other Coordinator.

Athrun just looked away, a depressed expression on his face. None of them knew his little secret anyway…

* * *

_Bridge of the _Odin

"Bring us towards the _Gamow_ and _Vesalius_. Hail the _Vesalius_ once we're in range." Diana Kessel ordered as she, Lucas, and Ajay stepped onto the bridge of her ship.

"Aye, sir!" Captain Lee as the crew of the _Odin_ followed her orders.

Diana sat in her chair as her ship, the _Odin_ and its sister ships, the _Valkyrie_ and the _Einherjar_, took off towards the ZAFT warships. A few minutes later, the bridge of the _Vesalius_ appeared on the main screen.

_"Ah…Commander Kessel."_ The masked snake of a man purred. _"To what do we owe the pleasure of a visit from the 11th Fleet?"_

"Someone has to keep an objective record of your colossal failure and incompetence. The failure to destroy a new warship in drydock, involvement in the destruction of neutral, civilian colony, the failure to capture not one, but _four_ prototype mobile suits, repeated failures to capture or destroy said machines and warship and of course, the latest failure. Despite the fact that you had two warships and five mobile suits, you still lost to a single warship, four mobile suits and a lone mobile armor." Diana bluntly said. "Frankly, I don't see how you can escape punishment for all of this, even _with_ Patrick Zala helping you out."

_"We shall see. Even _you_ could not possibly succeed where we have failed."_ Le Creuset replied. _"Speaking of the council, they have called the _Vesalius_ back. I was going to order the _Gamow_ to continue following the legged ship. If you want, you can take command of the _Gamow_ and try _your_ luck at capturing the legged ship. If not, then I can always call on the famed _'Maverick Fleet'_ to take a try…"_

She knew what Le Creuset was trying to accomplish. He wanted her to try and fail like he had so he could discredit the men and women under her command, and he was willing to even throw in the 'Maverick Fleet' to try and reach that goal. A small unseen smirk crossed her face at the thought of the infamous fleet. _'Like they would obey _you_…'_

Of course, it was also a tremendous gamble as well. If she…_and_ the 'Maverick Fleet' succeeded, then they could show his incompetence even more. "I'll play your game Le Creuset. But first, I require two copies of all the data of the captured machines and any data on the legged ship and its mobile suits."

_"Of course. I'll have two copies transferred to you immediately. Good luck, Commander Kessel. You're going to need it with the legged ship now inside Artemis."_

"I don't need luck, Creuset."

_"Oh by the way, Mu La Flaga is on board the legged ship." _Creuset said with a smirk._ "I thought you would want to know."_

Most of the _Odin_'s bridge crew glanced at her. They all knew of her desire to defeat the Hawk of Endymion after he had humiliated her at Endymion. She had been the fifth mobile suit at Endymion that Mu La Flaga had shot down. Though she survived, she had not forgotten the humiliation of being shot down by a lone mobile armor.

"I was already aware Creuset. There's only one Moebius Zero pilot left, La Flaga." she said coldly as she stood up. "I will shatter the Umbrella of Artemis and capture the legged ship and its mobile suits." _'Me _and_ the 7th Independent Mobile Fleet, whether you like it or not…'_

* * *

_Constitution Bridge…_

7th Fleet commander Chang White stood on the bridge of the _Constitution_, the main screen showing the _Vesalius_ leaving the area. _'Good…he's leaving.'_

"Bring up Commander Kessel and the 11th Fleet on communications. She may have some new information for us." The older man ordered. His blue-grey eyes, complemented by his black hair, were hard as he looked at the main screen. A first-gen Coordinator, he had been born in the AEU in secrecy. After he had been found to be a Coordinator, Chang had fled to NASA to stay alive. He had been in ZAFT for five years by the time Junius Seven had been destroyed. A tactical genius, he was one man who was to never be messed with. Even the EA knew this.

After he had made Commander, Chang had then rounded up Coordinators that were considered to be too liberal for even the 11th Fleet and they had become the infamous 7th Independent Mobile Fleet, a fleet that was considered to be too untrustworthy in battle due to the fact that they had fired upon ZAFT forces in several cases, most of which had been the ZAFT officers who supported the radical faction. But even then, it did not change the fact that the 7th Fleet was dangerous, even to the Earth Alliance, which was why Chang was still in command of the fleet and why they were still around.

The image of Diana Kessel then appeared on the main monitor. _"Commander White…what a surprise…"_ she mused. _"Let me guess, you were observing the…_incursion_…between the legged ship and the Le Creuset Team?"_

"Yes, we were. That ship is nothing to be underestimated, especially since they defeated the _'elite'_ Le Creuset unit." The older man replied.

Commander Kessel looked to the window before looking back at Commander White, a serious look in her eyes. _"That is why I have contacted you. Creuset is asking me to try and destroy the legged ship and he was willing even throw you guys in as well."_

A growl escaped Commander White. "That man is always up to something…" he muttered as he looked down at his fists.

_"Indeed…Anyway, that is why I am asking you to help me out. Knowing your…_'situation'_…you would be the most ideal to try and stop the legged ship with us. Just your mere presence will give Creuset a shock."_ Commander Kessel said as she looked at him in the eyes.

"I see…use our reputation against him and to our advantage…" Commander White mused as he thought about it. "Very well, then. We'll help." He said.

A nod from his fellow commander was his only reply before the screen shut down.

* * *

_Artemis Base…_

"Well, it seems that you three are indeed Lieutenants Murrue Ramius and Mu La Flaga, and Ensign Natarle Badgiruel." The commander of Artemis said as he looked the three up and down. The portly man then grinned. "I am Gerard Garcia, commander of Artemis Base." He said, introducing himself.

Murrue made to speak when Garcia interrupted her. "I am so sorry about that. After all, you were an unidentified ship being followed by not only two ZAFT ships, but also the famous 7th Fleet and 11th Fleet as well. Now that that is all cleared up, I welcome you to Artemis Base for as long as you need to stay."

Murrue did not like Garcia at once. He was like a bureaucrat, and from the way he was acting, he did not care about those on the _Archangel_ at all. In fact, all he was after was the ship, the machines, and a big fat promotion.

"Thank you Commander, but all we really need is supplies and we will be leaving you shortly." Murrue replied as politely as she could.

Garcia seemed to sigh at that point. "I am afraid that is out of the question, my dear. You see, although the _Nazca_-class has left, the _Laurasia_-class is still out there on the edge of our sensors. It is not alone either…" his voice took on an eerie tone. "Have you ever heard of the famed 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet and the 7th Independent Mobile Fleet?" he asked.

Murrue and Mu both gasped while Natarle just stared. _Those_ fleets were there as well?! The commander then typed in a command, and up came a screen showing the area in space where the fleet was.

"As you can see, the 7th Fleet and the 11th Fleet are out there. You must have done some pretty good damage to have the both fleets after you, hence why we cannot allow you to leave. If you do, then you will easily be destroyed."

"Damn." Mu cursed. "I hoped to never run across those ships and their sisters again, especially since they were the reason I escaped alive."

"As you can see, you have attracted a lot of attention. Why would you want to go out if you have the six famous fleet ships after you?" Garcia asked, a smirk on his face at the sight. "Here, you all are safe, especially from those six ships. They cannot get close enough to attack without us detecting them and activating the Umbrella. Nothing can get through and they will eventually get tired and leave. It happens all the time, actually." Garcia purred.

"Do not underestimate the six ships. You clearly have never seen them in combat." Mu snapped. "Their reputation as the six best ships is well deserved."

"I have actually, La Flaga. I was at Endymion. I know how deadly those six ships are as a team, but not even the feared 7th and 11th Fleets can penetrate this base." Garcia replied.

"Don't underestimate them." Mu snarled back. "A lot of better commanders, all EA, have died because of it."

Garcia did not hear Mu though. "Anyway, I suggest you all get some R and R. You appear to be exhausted. I'll have some rooms prepared for all of you."

He pushed the call button on his desk, and in came a pair of guards. Even though he had not said it, the _Archangel_ crew knew that they were prisoners on Artemis Base.

* * *

_On the Gamow_

_Thirty minutes later…_

Saul wandered down the corridors of the _Gamow_ knowing that he was working with the people that his sister hated so much. Now that his commanding officer, Athrun and the _Vesalius_ were gone, the ship was now under the temporary command of the 11th Fleet and her command.

"Hey, Saul!" Dearka cried from behind.

Saul looked over at the other ZAFT pilot, a bit surprised that he had found him. "What is it?" he asked.

"I'm wondering about the 11th Fleet. We'll be working with them, so I figured I would ask you, considering that you fought alongside them once." Dearka replied.

The other boy sighed. "Well, I don't know much about the 11th Fleet beyond what everybody else knows. But my sister, that's a whole other story. Let me give you the only advice you'll need for dealing with her. Don't lie to her, don't argue with her and do whatever she tells you to do. And you'll avoid castration."

Dearka stared in shock. "You're kidding me, right?" he asked.

Saul stared back at him with a dead serious expression. "Nope."

"Oh man…she sounds crazy." Dearka whispered.

"Not really. But she'll kick your ass if you piss her off." he replied. "In fact, she broke some idiot's arms after he almost got her squad killed during a training exercise."

"Damn. That is one woman I will _never_ piss off." Dearka remarked.

Saul nodded. "Tell me about it."

"How are you even related to someone like that?"

"Actually, I'm the black sheep of the family. My parents are more like her than me." Saul sighed and added, "Well, we got a couple of hours until the briefing, so I'm gonna take a nap. See ya later."

"Wait!" Dearka called. Saul looked back. "What about the 7th Fleet? Do you know anything about _them_, seeing as they will be helping us as well?"

Saul felt his face pale at the mere mention of the fleet. "_They_ are working with us?!" he asked.

Dearka nodded. "Yeah. It seems that your sister called out to them for help, because their ships are not too far from our own."

"Other than the fact that they are a fleet known for attacking ZAFT's forces at times and well-known for acting on their own, no, I know nothing." Saul replied.

A nod from the other pilot seemed to be all that he needed. "Thanks. See you in two hours!"

A few minutes later, Saul entered his quarters and crashed on his bed. He glanced at the bed opposite his. Rusty's bed.

Saul sighed. It was hard to believe that his friend was dead. He found it strange. Just this morning, he had talked, joked and laughed with him, Miguel and the others. And now they were dead. Gone forever. He remembered Matthew talking about how when the war was over, he was going to propose to his girlfriend. He remembered Miguel's reason for becoming a soldier in the first place, to earn money for his sick younger brother. Now who would help his brother? Who ever said 'war is hell' was right.

_BEEP...BEEP...BEEP..._

Saul groaned. Someone was calling him. He got up and moved to the terminal built into his desk. He pushed the call button. "Yes?"

_"A private message from the _Odin_ for you."_ the Comm officer said.

Saul sighed. It was his sister. "Patch it through."

The screen changed to the face of his sister. _"Is this channel secure?"_ she asked.

"Give me a moment." Saul replied as he typed in a series of commands on the terminal. "Oh. And it's nice to see you too, sister."

Saul had hacked the Gamow's systems within a few hours of coming on board. It had been painfully easy to hack. And so were most normal military computers for that matter. But that was a whole other story.

"Okay. It's secure." Saul said. "What do you want?"

_"Any and all unedited records from all operations during the incident at Heliopolis and all the data on the Earth Forces' mobile suits and the legged ship. I don't trust the data he gave us."_ his sister said in her usual cold and blunt tone.

"Is that all? I thought this was going to be something hard." Saul said as he started typing.

A moment later, he transferred a copy of all the data on the mobile suits and legged ship to the _Odin_. "There's the mobile suit data." he said as he started searching for the rest of the data she wanted. "And here comes the...What?"

_"What is it?"_

Saul stared in disbelief at the screen. "All the data on Heliopolis and its destruction is gone..." he said as searched for some trace of the data. "There's no trace of it. All the data is completely gone."

_"Creuset, that sneaky bastard."_ Diana cursed. _"He must have removed all traces of what really happened just in case I'd try something like this. And I almost had him too."_

"You really hate Creuset." Saul commented.

_"Our parents worry a lot about Hong Fa Wu."_ Diana said. _"And while Wu is dangerous, he is little more than a mad dog. Wild, angry, predictable. The truly dangerous one is Creuset. The man is a viper hiding in the bushes, waiting to strike upon the unsuspecting victim. A man like that is the one to truly fear."_

* * *

_Constitution bridge…_

Commander Kessel's report had reached the infamous 7th Fleet as soon as she had learned of the data's destruction.

Commander White snarled in rage at the missing data. "Damn that Le Creuset…never thought he would get rid of the data. Very sneaky…" he muttered.

"We almost had him too." Aisha added. "Removing the data proved to be a bad mistake. Now we have Wu to worry about as well. While Wu will be easier to handle, Creuset is the real threat. He is a snake, so we have to extra alert that he does not use us as well."

"He is either just being paranoid, or he is hiding something from us."

Tao huffed at the exclamation. "And to make things worse, he is very manipulative of everyone he meets. That is a trait that many should fear." She replied.

Heidi just growled in response. "No one should be that manipulative…it is not normal."

"That is true. But what bothers me is how there are no records of his birth anywhere in the PLANTs." Araiya said as she looked the others over.

Commander White's face then took on a grim look. "That _is_ worrisome…" he murmured.

Josh just let out a yawn. "Whatever the cause, he's _definitely_ out to get us. That we _can't_ deny…" Despite his laid-back remark, Josh was right, Commander White noted with a chill.

It was silent as they all reflected on their position.

More than once, they had fired on ZAFT forces as a way of expressing their disapproval of the Council's actions and orders. Even though no lives had been lost in all of those cases, they had been branded the 'Maverick Fleet' because of their actions. And there was nothing they could do about it. The only reason they had not been disbanded and thrown in prison long ago was due to the fact that they were even more dangerous than the 11th Fleet, and yet that was of little help to them…

* * *

_January 26th, C.E. 71_

_On the Gamow…_

The top officers of the 11th, the captain of the _Gamow_ and the remaining members of the Creuset Team were gathered around the display table in the back of the bridge. The screen of the table displayed a read out of the Artemis Base and its Umbrella shield.

There were five officers of the 11th Fleet. It was the commander and her four top officers. First was Lucius Raveshaw, the second-in-command of the 11th Fleet, a dark-skinned man of average size and height, clad in a ZAFT red coat uniform. His white hair was cut in a standard military style. His red eyes always seemed like they were studying and analyzing everyone and everything around him.

Standing next to him, was whom many considered to be the polar opposite of Lucius, was Ajay Cortez. Also clad in a red uniform and a toothpick in his mouth, Ajay was a bit thinner and taller than Lucius. Ajay's demeanor and stance were quite different from his comrade. Where Lucius was standing straight and at attention, like a proper soldier, Ajay was relaxed and laid-backed. His long, dirty blond hair was tied into a loose ponytail.

The next officer was a giant of a man, clad in a white uniform. He was Basque Gideon, Commander of the _Einherjar_ and its mobile suits. Basque's head was almost entirely shaved bald, expect for a long black braided ponytail and a matching beard and mustache.

The fourth officer was a woman, wearing a white uniform with male pants instead of the female skirt. Lisa DeCosta, Commander of the _Valkyrie_ and its mobile suits. She had short brown hair and green eyes.

The finally there was the Ice Queen of the 11th Fleet herself, Diana Kessel. Clad in a white uniform with male pants. Her eyes were an icy blue, much like her icy demeanor. She had short, straight black hair.

On the main screen were the commander and top officers of the 7th Fleet as well. Commander White, Commander of the 7th Fleet ship the _Andrews_, was in the middle of the screen, _Constitution_ commander Tao was on the top left, Araiya, Commander of the ship the _Orleans_, was top right, Josh was bottom left, and Heidi was bottom right.

"The Umbrella of Artemis is a lightwave barrier that blocks any and all incoming attacks. But it also blocks their attacks as well." Lucius Raveshaw said.

"So basically, we can't do anything and they can't do anything." Dearka said. "What a useless weapon."

"Perhaps. But as a purely defensive weapon, it's formidable." Lucius said. "Added to this, is the strategic unimportance of the Artemis Base. Because of its unimportance, no one has come up with a means to break the shield. However, this works to our advantage as well."

_"He's right. Anything that they have will be of almost no use to them."_ Tao said from on the screen.

"What? How does that help us?" Yzak asked.

"Simple." Ajay smugly said. "All the guys inside Artemis have grown fat, lazy and complacent. They think that nothing can break through their precocious Umbrella. Which means when we do break it, they'll run around in shock like a chicken with its head cut off."

"Correct." Lucius said.

_"That will give us the advantage when we strike next."_ Araiya noted.

"Let's just smash this 'Umbrella of Artemis' already." Basque said.

"Easier said than done." Lucius said. "I doubt anything short of a nuclear explosion could damage the barrier."

"Okay. So what's the plan? Wait for them to come out?" Dearka said with a chuckle.

"Quit joking around Dearka." an annoyed Yzak said. "What will the commander say when he gets back and we haven't finished this off? Do you want to be the one to tell him that we did nothing?"

"Enough." Commander Kessel said. "The Umbrella of Artemis will fall today."

"And just how are we gonna do that?" Dearka asked. "As long as the shield is up, we can't attack."

"And the only time they turn the Umbrella off is when we're out of their sensor range." Saul added. "But the second we get close to them, they'll raise it back up again."

_"It seems impenetrable, but everything has a weakness."_ Commander White mused.

"There is a way to break that shield and shatter Artemis." Diana said. "The Blitz."

* * *

_Artemis Base_

_In the Archangel…_

Akira was now getting annoyed. He was already in a bad enough mood for being with the EA, but this was just going too far. Everyone else from the _Archangel_ was crammed into the mess hall of the ship with armed guards outside. And they had been like that for hours as well. There was no doubt in his mind that he and everyone else were under arrest for being on the ship.

Chris was also annoyed, but not for the same reasons as Aki'. His reasons did not really exist at all.

The doors to the mess hall hissed open to reveal a fat, portly looking man in uniform, accompanied by soldiers.

"I am Commander Gerard Garcia of Artemis Base. I wish to know who the pilots of the Mobile Suits in the hanger are." He said.

"You mean the captain did not tell you? Or do you not have clearance?" an officer from the bridge asked.

Akira and Chris did not know his name, but his comment did not help at all.

"Who are the pilots?" Garcia asked a more forceful tone. One of the soldiers with him punched the man hard.

Kira was about ready to stand up and admit to being one of the pilots, yet the chief engineer, Murdoch, was keeping him in place. The crew was either just trying to protect the boy, or keep him in place for themselves. Aki' was convinced it was the latter. Chris on the other hand, knew that the crew was trying to protect him.

"It was Lieutenant La Flaga and Ensign Badgiruel." Another officer replied. Garcia just smirked at him.

"I saw the battle. Lt. La Flaga is a Mobile Armor pilot and the Ensign is an officer of the bridge, not a pilot." He sneered. "So, who are the pilots?"

No one answered, so Garcia assumed they were not going to tell. "Hmmm…I wonder. The captain is a female, so I have to guess that the pilots are also female." He purred.

The man stopped where he, Kira and the others were sitting. "Perhaps they are also disguised as civilians so we cannot figure out who they really are." Garcia added with a sneer.

Garcia grabbed Flay's arm and yanked her up so roughly Nisha was about to attack. But the boy held back.

"Let me go!" Flay shrieked. The man just laughed at her panic. "Leave her alone now!" Sai demanded. But Garcia just backhanded the boy, making Kira and Chris stand up at that point.

"Let her go. I am the one you want." He said. Garcia just shoved Flay into a guard's arms. "A mere child? Hmph. There is no way that a brat could pilot such a machine. Now, where are the real pilots?!" He snarled.

He made to punch Kira in the face, but the boy just sidestepped the blow and threw Garcia over his shoulder to the ground.

"See?!" a panicked Flay cried. "He is a Coordinator! He is the pilot! They all are!" she added, pointing out Akira, Chris and Nisha as well.

"Nice going, Flay!" Sai growled from his spot on the broken table.

"Now this changes everything. Are you three the other pilots?" Garcia asked in a smooth tone. Nisha just growled while Akira said nothing. Chris too remained silent. "Very well, then. Take them to the interrogation chamber." He ordered. But before the guards could grab Akira however, he then grabbed the wrist of one and threw him to the ground before lashing out with a martial arts kick. Getting into his stance, the boy heard guns cocking at him.

_'Just surrender for now…'_ he reminded himself, raising his hands slowly. Nisha did the same thing, not wanting to fight.

Chris received a punch to the head from one of the guards next. He stumbled from the blow, but managed to stay standing. He quickly turned to the other soldiers, slipping into a martial arts stance, and kicked the guard who had punched him in the stomach. The blow sent the guard crashing into a table behind him. Chris then heard the sound of guns cocking at him as well.

_'Yeah…better stop while I'm ahead…'_ he sighed and raised his hands in surrender.

"Now that is better." Garcia purred. "Take all five to the hanger."

* * *

_Outside Artemis…_

The _Constitution_, the _Andrews_, the _Orleans_, the 11t Fleet, and the _Gamow_ all turned and prepared to leave the area. But as they did so, the hangers of the _Gamow_ opened up and the Blitz launched. A few minutes later, it vanished from view and all sensors.

* * *

_On the Gamow…_

"The Mirage Colloid. A perfect weapon for a coward." Dearka commented as Nicol left the ship.

"He is not a coward. He is just the perfect one to send in. Besides, he is the bravest of us all for doing this. All of us joined ZAFT for our own reasons, yet Nicol just wants to protect the PLANTs." Saul countered.

"Why did you join ZAFT?" Dearka asked.

"I did it to get my sister and my parents off my back." Saul replied. "I was fated to join ZAFT the moment I was born. So I'm just going with the flow."

* * *

_Artemis Base…_

Once the seven ZAFT ships left the sensor range, the Umbrella was dropped. No one was aware of the machine getting closer, or of the near betrayal however…

"So you want us to remove the locks on the OS's?" Kira asked. "For starters, yes. But you four could do a lot more. You could analyze and build another machine, or an even more effective weapon against ZAFT."

"We are just students of ORB, not some people that can be hired by you fucking selfish excuses for soldiers!" Akira snarled. "Oh, what was that, Coordinator?" Garcia asked smugly.

"I said, we will not work for you, _ever_!" Akira shot back. "Well, you four are traitors to the PLANTS, after all." Garcia murmured.

"Traitors…" Kira was stunned, too stunned to even speak. "Pay no attention to him, Kira. He is just a lying snake." Chris replied.

"He is just a jerk." Nisha remarked, making Chris smirk.

"Then, why are you fighting against the PLANTs, and for the EA?" Garcia asked in an innocent sounding voice.

"We are not fighting for anyone, and for your information, 'our people' are the ones on the _Archangel_." Nisha replied.

"Very well, then. Throw the girl out of the air lock-" he was cut off by the sound of a gun cocking. Nisha, Chris, Flay, Kira, Garcia, and the soldiers with them turned around, only to see Akira aiming a gun at them all.

"You will be doing no such thing." He snarled. "Well, are you going to shoot one of those you care about and work for, space monster?" Garcia sneered. A dangerous gleam appeared in the boy's golden eyes, one Nisha had only seen once before.

"Aki'…" he murmured. Then, the shocking news came. "I _don't_ work for those creeps who _killed_ my sister! And, I _will_ shoot you! I am a soldier of ZAFT, and I _will_ defeat those responsible for her death!" Akira snarled as he aimed the gun at Garcia's chest. Flay stared in shock, as did Nisha and Kira. Chris was also stunned. A ZAFT officer had been in their midst?!

"You…are…a part of…ZAFT?!" Nisha asked in shock. "Yes, I am. I'm sorry for not telling you Nisha, but you need to understand why I am doing this." The other boy explained.

Chris was unable to say a word, as the shock had made it impossible for him to speak or even think clearly.

Flay stared in shock at the boy holding the gun. "You wouldn't!" she shrieked. Akira did not even waver as he kept the gun aimed. "Let the girl go _now_!" he snarled at Garcia. In response, however, the guards aimed their own guns at Akira.

"I would put the gun away and do as I asked. The fact that you work for ZAFT changes nothing…" Garcia purred. Seeing that he was outnumbered, Aki' just growled. He did not release the gun, however. Garcia growled at the lack of response, so he faced Chris, Nisha, and Kira instead.

"You two will do as I asked, or she _will_ die!" the portly man snarled. Nisha, Chris, and Kira did not know what to do. Both just remained there, unmoving. Only when a guard began to shove Flay towards the air-lock did the three of them move.

"Fine…" Nisha growled. He did not like this one bit, and the fact that his cousin was a part of ZAFT still had him in shock. Aki' growled, but did not move. Surrounded by guards, the boy could not fire, and that was frustrating.

Nisha, Chris, and Kira then hopped into the cockpits of their machines, Garcia glaring at Aki' with an angry look. "You had better do so too, Patchworker, or she will suffer far worse than your _sister_ did…" he snarled. That prompted a snarl in Aki' yet he did so anyway.

Upon entering the Wing's cockpit, the Coordinator looked at Flay, who had fear in her eyes. Aki' sighed and began to get to work, only to stop at realizing what he was doing right then. '_No! I will _not_ help them! I won't!'_ he reminded himself.

Then, Akira looked at the guards around the cockpit of the Wing. Suddenly, he closed up the cockpit, the door sliding shut. The guards yelped as the Phase Shift armor came online. "What are you doing?!" Garcia shouted.

That gave Kira, Chris, and Nisha time to shove their guards away, just as an explosion occurred. A gasp escaped Garcia as he realized what was happening. "What is going on?!" he stammered out.

"We are under attack!" Kira snapped. "What do you think we are doing right now, leaving for the ZAFT forces?!"

Right then and there, the Raven knelt down and held out its hand for Flay to get on. Chris was not about to let Flay suffer at the hands of that selfish excuse for a human being.

_"Get on!"_ he called, using the exterior speakers of the Raven to speak to her directly. Flay nodded and hopped onto the appendage. Garcia and his men could not stop the machine from standing up and taking Flay away from them.

Chris allowed the cockpit door to open and Flay hopped in, the door hissing shut.

"Thank you…" Flay murmured. She was shocked that a Coordinator had helped her out, yet she was not complaining.

"Don't mention it, just don't touch anything." Chris reminded her as the girl wedged herself into the space between the seat and the wall.

Chris then activated the com-line to the Strike. "Kira, Nisha, let's see if we can get out of here and what we can do to help." The boy said.

_"Right, Chris."_ The other boy replied as he loaded the Sword Striker onto the Strike's back.

_"You got it!"_ Nisha replied as he activated the Phase Shift armor.

"You should not have said that to the guy…" Chris explained to Flay as he looked at her.

"What?" Flay asked. She seemed to be genuinely confused.

"What you said back in the mess hall. You should not have said that we were Coordinators." Chris clarified. Flay looked shocked.

"Why? It is only the truth. Besides, they are our allies, right?" Flay asked weakly. She was eager to prove that she was right.

Chris just scoffed at the weak defense Flay had. "Allies? Hardly. Eurasia may be an ally in words, but in actions they are not. That commander doesn't give a damn about us really. All he wants is a promotion for giving us, the machines, and the ship over to his superiors. Hell, he was going to throw you out of an airlock just to get us to do what he wanted!" he snarled. "The world is not all black and white. There is no real good vs. evil fight. There are grey areas in the world. Don't believe that it is all there is."

Flay was silent as the Wing, the Raven, the Z.A.M. Gundam, and the Strike all headed out into the area that was the chaotic Artemis Base port.

* * *

_Outside Artemis…_

The 7th Fleet, the 11th Fleet, and the _Gamow_ were all closing in on Artemis Base at once. The shield now gone, the teams now had an opening to attack. The time to finish it off was now.

The Duel, the Buster, the Surge, the Diver, and the Custom GINNs of the six ships were all quickly launched from their respective warships.

_"Listen up men."_ Diana Kessel said over the comm. _"Team 3, will enter the hanger first. Focus your fire on the docked ships and the base itself. Team 1 will follow Team 3 and attack the legged ship while Team 2 will remain behind in reserve to catch escaping ships. I want the legged ship's engines and weapons disabled. As well as the four mobile suits disabled and captured. If that is not possible, then destroy them. But leave the Moebius Zero to me. Understand?"_

Only her brother and the rest of the Creuset Team responded. The men and women under her command were well trained and didn't need to respond. They would follow out her orders to the letter. The 7th remained silent as well. It was the same situation with them. They were well trained and no response was needed.

_"Good. Let us end both Artemis and the legged ship here and now."_ she said. _"For the Black Hawk!"_

_"For the Black Hawk!"_ the pilots of the 11th Fleet shouted back before the mobile suits rocketed off towards the Artemis Base and their prey.

_"All units, listen up."_ Commander White said over the com-line to his own fighters. _"Team 1 will help Team 3 of the 11th with the hanger. Team 2 will attack any ships that try to interfere with the mission, and Team 3 will stay on stand-by as needed. The legged ship should be disabled as should the four machines that are with it. If that is not possible, try and destroy the units. Understand?"_

_"Yes sir!"_ was the reply.

Mobile armors scrambled out of the large main hanger, in an attempt to engage them. But they were no match for the aces of the 11th or the 7th. A hail of bullets and beams tore through mobile armors. Gideon's GINN and the rest of the GINNs of the _Einherjar_ raced ahead of the others. The Team 3 members were all heavy weapons experts and were armed accordingly. Several heavy cannons and missiles were fired off, destroying and several warships.

Tao flew around in the Diver, firing on mobile armors that tried to escape her. The pilots were just no match for her or the aces of the 7th.

Basque roared as his GINN, Bruticus, charged forward, firing off his heavy cannon and Gatling guns while the rest of his team followed behind. Many of the docked vessels in the front of the hanger were quickly crippled or destroyed.

_"Team 1, move out."_ Diana ordered.

_"Team 2, move to position!"_ Commander White ordered.

The mobile suits of the _Constitution_, the _Odin_, and the Creuset team raced in the massive hanger. They split up, searching for the legged ship and firing upon the mobile armors that were vainly trying to defend their base. They were all minor annoyances that were trying to stop them from reaching their objective. Diana fired off a few rounds at a lone mobile armor, clipping its engines and causing it to crash into the command center of the base, no doubt, taking the base commander with it.

She quickly and easily destroyed three more mobile armors. That was a problem that irritated her. It was too easy. True, the Earth Forces had numbers. But their mobile armors were vastly inferior compared to ZAFT's mobile suits. Truth be told, Diana was growing bored of the war. ZAFT's technology was just too superior. And without challenging opponents, how could she and her men improve if their opponents were all weak. When she learned that the Earth Forces were building mobile suits, she was actually quite happy. It would finally bring a balance to this war and actually challenge her.

It wasn't long before she, her brother, and his two teammates spotted the legged ship and its mobile suits. The Blitz was also there, battling the Strike and the Raven. However, much to Diana's annoyance, there was no Moebius Zero. No Mu La Flaga.

And it seemed that there was a battle between the two remaining machines, with the winged one giving off a ZAFT IFF signal…

* * *

_Outside the Artemis base hanger…_

"Akira, stop this! What you are doing is wrong!" Nisha cried as he dodged an attack launched by the Wing.

_"You will _NEVER_ understand what I went through that day!"_ Aki snapped back. Nisha just pulled back on the controls as a beam shot from the Wing came at him. The beam missed the machine by a few inches, too close for his liking.

"I do, Aki'! _You_ are the one that needs to snap out of it, not me!" Nisha cried. A snarl was released from Akira's vocals as he slashed with one of the beam sabers next. Nisha barely dodged it as he moved his machine backwards.

_"What do _you_ know about losing someone close to you?! HUH?!"_ Akira snarled. A kick from the Wing made contact with the Z.A.M. Gundam's shield.

"I lost my mother. I know what it means to lose someone too!" Nisha shouted. The Z.A.M. Gundam opened fire with its hidden leg missiles, but the Wing dodged them all with no trouble. "I lost her on the same day that Junius Seven was attacked! So I understand the pain you're going through!"

_"STOP IT! You _don't_ know what it means to lose someone like my sister! She cared for me when our parents were at work, which was _every day_! Why can't you understand that!?"_ Akira screamed over the com-line. Tears were running down the Coordinator's face as he fought.

Nisha just stared as a slew of missiles from the Wing sped at him. The missiles of the Z.A.M. Gundam also launched as he pulled the trigger. A multitude of explosions occurred, just as another explosion from the hanger came out as well.

* * *

_"Time to end this."_ Yzak said he opened fire on the Strike and Z.A.M. Gundam.

Diana, Saul and Dearka all followed the Duel, firing on the two Earth Force's mobile suits. The Raven and the Strike dodged their shots while the Raven returned fire with its railguns at the Buster and Duel and the Strike threw its beam boomerang at the Panther. Diana effortlessly dodged the incoming weapon and its rebound, only to come face to face with the Strike with its sword descending on her. But she wasn't some novice pilot. She was the command of one of the best space-combat units in all of ZAFT. She barely managed sidestepped the attack, losing her machine's left arm in the process.

_"Leave her alone!"_ Saul shouted, firing his Hakenfaust claw at the Strike.

The Strike pulled back, avoiding the claw weapon. Diana took that momentary distraction to fire off a burst of rounds at the Strike. But her bullets did nothing against the phase-shift armor of the machine.

_'Amazing. These mobile suits make even our machines inferior.'_

_"You alright, sis?" _Saul asked before round of missiles slammed into the Surge.

Diana was about to respond, when she noticed the legged ship was turning around. It was heading towards the open rear hanger door. _"I'm fine. Stop the legged ship!"_

Huge explosions started tearing through the hanger. The Raven, the Z.A.M. Gundam, and the Strike were falling to the legged ship.

_"You're not getting away this time!"_ Yzak shouted, firing at the retreating mobile suits.

Unfortunately, at that very moment, a massive explosion tore through the hanger, creating a fireball that separated them from the fleeing ship.

_'It seems Basque and his men were quicker that I thought they'd be.'_ Diana thought as the legged ship slipped from their grasp.

Tao watched with amusement as she recalled the team sent in. _'Heidi and her men were quicker than I had anticipated.'_

_"No!"_ Yzak shouted in rage and frustration.

_"The base is coming apart."_ Diana said. _"All forces, fall back. Fall back."_

_"All 7th Fleet units, fall back. The base is coming apart. We don't want to be near the explosion when it goes."_ Tao ordered as her teammates met up with her as well.

All of the ZAFT forces started fleeing the crumbling base. They had destroyed the Artemis Base, but failed in their ultimate objective: the capture or destruction of the legged ship and its mobile suits. But as long as that ship was in space, she, the 11th Fleet, and the 7th Fleet would hunt them. Nothing ever escaped their grasp for very long.

* * *

_Archangel_…

Nisha sat in the Z.A.M. Gundam's cockpit, unable to believe what had happened: Akira had betrayed them all…

Chris could not believe it either. How much longer would they have to suffer? He did not know…

* * *

Yep, Akira is a ZAFT pilot. But pay attention to his time of betrayal, as it is important in the future. Any flames will be reported and/or deleted. Constructive criticism is apprieciated as well. Be sure to read and review when you're done reading. :)


	7. Phase 6: Respective Solitudes

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, the feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

**Read and review please!**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

_January 26th, C.E.71_

_Constitution hanger…_

Akira flew the Wing into the hanger of the _Constitution_ as he proceeded to shut down the machines systems. The Phase Shift armor went down as the Wing came in for a landing on the floor.

The Wing kneeling, Akira opened up the cockpit, just as he saw ZAFT soldiers waiting for him, and among them, Commander White. The man wore a smile on his face when he saw the other boy.

"Well, I see that you have returned to us, Akira Nishikama…" Commander White said. A pleased look was on his face as he said this. The soldiers all aimed their guns, but lowered them at the commander's command. "Lower your weapons. He is one of us." The man said.

All weapons were lowered, just as Commander White looked at Akira. "Why don't you follow me and we will…_talk_ about your new mission…" he asked.

"Yes, sir." Akira replied as he walked off with the ZAFT commander.

* * *

_Bridge…_

Tao stared at the newcomer, who was now finishing up with his ZAFT red uniform. A pleased look was on her face.

"Well, it would seem you managed to accomplish your mission." She mused as he looked at her. A glare was shot in her direction, but she ignored it to the best of her ability.

"I was supposed to be assigned to the Creuset Team. Why am I here instead?!" Aki' snarled back.

His fellow officer just narrowed her eyes at him. "I know that you want revenge on those who killed your sister, but you have to face the facts eventually. If you were part of the Creuset Team, you would only be willing to kill _all_ Naturals!" she snapped back.

Aki' looked down, a frustrated look on his face and in his eyes. "I know that…but…I just _want_ to prove that she was not a threat…"

"And you can do that, but _not_ through killing all Naturals…" Tao murmured as she turned to leave.

* * *

_Archangel Hanger…_

Chris sighed as he shut down the Raven. Fighting in an enclosed space was hard enough, and to make things worse, Akira had betrayed them all. The whole base had fallen apart around them. It was a miracle that the team had made it out alive at all.

The boy glanced over at Flay. She seemed to be pale and in a daze to boot. Chris did not blame her. He too had felt the same way after his first battle. The feeling of feeling scared, yet exhilarated at the same time was still fresh in his mind. The fear was gone however, and that made Chris feel uncomfortable.

_'Have I become that accustomed to battle already?'_

This thought was present in his mind, even after the fighting had ceased.

"Are you alright, Flay? You seemed kind of freaked." Chris asked in concern.

She blinked a few times before looking over at him. "Huh? Oh. Yes, I am." Flay replied, but she could not hide the slight tremor in her voice.

"Good. Sai would probably kill me if anything happened to you." Chris said as he looked down at the controls of the Raven.

Flay was also silent for a moment before she spoke up again. "Is that was all battles are like?" she asked, making Chris look up at her in surprise.

"Huh? No. At least from what I know and have experienced. Some might be more intense, others less intense." He replied. Deep down, he did not know the answer either, but it was best to say something instead of saying nothing.

"How can you just head out into battle like that? How can anyone do that kind of thing?!" Flay demanded. Chris glared at Flay before speaking again.

"There _are_ people who _do_ go out into battle for a living. They are called _soldiers_ and they fight to defend their home nations, just like NASA and the PLANTs do." The boy snarled back. Flay gulped, but kept her mouth shut.

Chris felt awful about the way he spoke to Flay, but he did not reveal that fact. She had to learn that life was not just good and evil. _Everyone_ fought for something, whether it be family or just for a chance to defend their home.

"I don't just head out into battle, Flay. I am protecting the few important people I have left." Chris replied at last.

"The few important people you have left?"

Chris closed his eyes for a moment. "That's something I do not wish to talk about. So please, respect my privacy."

Chris then opened the cockpit door, just as Nisha and Kira did too.

"Nice work out there!" Mu called up. "That was some really impressive fighting you both pulled off back there!"

Chris smiled. "Thanks!" he cried back. Then, Flay also stepped out of the Raven's cockpit.

"Miss Allester?! What are you doing in there?!" Mu asked in pure surprise.

"It's a long story right now!" Chris replied.

Then, the Coordinator faced Flay. "Do you need a hand in getting down?" he asked.

"Y…yeah. Sure." Flay replied, still uncertain of whether she could trust this Coordinator, although he _had_ saved her from Garcia.

Chris the grabbed Flay around her shoulders and pushed off of the cockpit sides. The two of them drifted down to the hanger floor, where Mu was waiting for them. Chris then let go of Flay. "You had better return to Sai. He is probably worried about you right now."

Flay looked at him before turning to leave. "Thank you…" she said before leaving. But as the girl left the hanger, she looked back at Chris. Flay sighed as she drifted out the door, wondering if she could trust him.

Mu saw the reaction and grinned. "So, is she your girlfriend?" he asked in a sly voice.

Chris yelped at the question. "What?! No! Flay is not my girlfriend! Besides, she is arranged to marry Sai. Why would I break up a relationship?!" the Coordinator shouted back, blushing from what he hoped was embarrassment.

"Well, that aside, I am surprised that you managed to hold your own against the 7thFleet of ZAFT and the 11th Fleet as well.." Mu replied, an impressed look on his face.

"The 11th and 7th Fleets…Never heard of them, to be honest." Kira replied.

"Nor have I." Chris replied

"Same here." Nisha added.

"C'mon, seriously?" Mu asked. He was shocked by their reaction. "The 7th and 11th Fleets are those elite aces ZAFT propaganda is always talking about and showing off. And for good reason too. They're the most dominant forces in space and they've been a real nightmare for us. But the 7th Fleet is even worse. There have been reports of the 7th attacking _ZAFT_ forces as well as EA. That is why they are called the 'Maverick Fleet'."

"Are they really that strong?" Kira asked.

"Yeah. They have beaten the Earth Forces numerous times before. I have fought them several times before, and I only managed to shoot one of them down. Although, I did duel the 11th's original commander to a draw once…" Mu trailed off at the memory.

-_Flash back_-

_Battle of Endymion Crater…_

_May 28th C.E. 70_

_Mu cursed as he pulled his Moebius Zero into a sharp left turn, dodging a burst of rounds from a black and white GINN._

_"Of all the pilots I could have encountered, I end up coming face to face with the Black Hawk." he said, dodging more rounds._

_Mu knew he was in serious trouble. He had managed to shoot down five GINNs earlier in the battle. One of them was a dark purple GINN of the 11th Fleet, but that GINN taken out two of his gunbarrels. And he was running low on ammo. And worse of all, he knew that his Zero was slower than the GINN. The Hawk was playing with him. He could catch up with him in an instant and finish him off. There was no way Mu could outrun him._

'Wait. Maybe I don't need to outrun him.'_ he thought. _'This is crazy. But it might just work.'

_Mu suddenly cut his speed, stopping dead. His sudden stop caught the Black Hawk offguard, causing him to veer up and over him rather than stopping, leaving him in the middle of Mu's sights. Mu deployed his gunbarrels and fired. He fired off a few rounds before an alarm sounded in his cockpit. He was out of ammo and the GINN had barely managed to evade the few he did fire._

_The GINN spun around and squeezed the trigger of its rifle. But nothing happened. The GINN stood there for a moment. They were both out of ammo. But Mu knew he was still in danger. Zero was defenseless while the GINN still had its sword._

_Suddenly, to Mu's surprise, the GINN's left arm reached up and saluted him, before taking off, leaving him surprised and relieved._

-_End Flashback_-

"I don't really know, Mu. It sounds like he chose to spare your life and retreat instead of fighting you to a draw." Chris explained.

"I have to agree, Lieutenant La Flaga." Kira agreed.

"HEY!"

Nisha snickered as he watched the older man's reaction.

* * *

_January 27th, C.E. 71_

_Constitution…_

Commander White looked over the files he had on Le Creuset. A frown crossed his face as he read them. There was not much on the ZAFT commander it seemed. It was like he had just appeared out of thin air.

"What are you, Le Creuset…?" the other ZAFT Commander murmured. The image of Le Creuset stared back at him, as if taunting the other man. Commander White let out a low snarl, but his face did not show it. White knew better than to show his emotions when around Le Creuset. The man was a snake.

A sigh escaped the ZAFT commander. He then turned his chair to face the window, which showed the stars flowing by his room at a slow pace. Commander White reflected on his orders that had been given to him by NASA Command…

-_Flashback-_

_NASA Capital-Washington D.C._

_March 7th, C.E. 70…_

_"You are to find out what Le Creuset is up to. We already know some stuff about his plans, but there is a bigger motive we feel that he is hiding. That is why we need you to do as he says for now." The President said. She was serious too._

_"But, why? Isn't it going against your ideals?" Commander White asked. He had never expected to receive such orders._

_The President looked at him with a hard glare. "We examined some of the ruins from Junius Seven and found that Nukes had been used." She said simply._

_Commander White just snorted. "We all know that Nukes had been used. What is so interesting about that?"_

_Another glare came his way. "There is evidence that the Nukes used on Junius Seven came from the group known as Blue Cosmos. We managed to retrieve one of the parts from a missile. Luckily, it was a part with the identification number of the missile. We traced it back to the factory and found that it had been _purchased_ by Le Creuset. He then sold those Nukes he purchased to the terrorist group who in turn, used them on Junius Seven."_

_This made Commander White gasp. "B-B-But, isn't it supposed to be impossible to purchase Nukes?! I thought no one could!" the commander exclaimed._

_"We thought that too, so you are not the only one who made a mistake in that line of thinking. Just goes to show you that even NASA's government is not perfect." The President replied. "But that aside, we need you to be our mole inside ZAFT and find out if Le Creuset has any other Nukes hidden away to be sold to Blue Cosmos."_

_Commander White nodded. "You can count on me, ma'am." He replied, saluting the President. She nodded, and sent him on his way._

-_End Flashback_-

The mere memory made Commander White grit his teeth. He did not like Le Creuset, yet he also knew his duty. After all, duty came before personal feelings…

* * *

_January 28th, C.E. 71_

_Shuttle to Aprilius One…_

The door to the shuttle passenger compartment opened up, only to reveal Athrun's father, Patrick Zala, Rau Le Creuset, Councilman Hong Fa Wu, and another young man, whom Athrun had never met before.

Athrun and Commander Creuset both saluted as they entered the compartment.

"National Defense Chairman Zala, Councilman Wu, we hope that you will allow us to accompany you to the PLANTs."

The other boy returned the salute while Patrick waved them both off. "No need for formalities here."

Athrun looked to the other boy, who was standing behind his father. He was Athrun's age, and wore the same ZAFT red coat that he wore. He had grey eyes and his black hair was cut in the standard military style. He seemed to be rather bored.

"Ah. Zane. I trust that the assignment was a success?" Le Creuset asked.

"Yes it was. I am just sorry that I could not be there to help out with the mission concerning the machines." Zane replied.

"Excellent." Le Creuset replied. Turning to Athrun, he spoke. "I see you have met my protégé. I do not believe that you were properly introduced yet, though. Athrun Zala, I would like you to meet Zane Scirocco. He is joining us as soon as the _Vesalius_ is repaired and the matter of Heliopolis is addressed at the Council meeting."

"Hello." the two politely said to each other as they shook hands.

"I do not believe you saw me on this shuttle, am I right Athrun?" Patrick inquired. Athrun spun around to face his father.

"I am sorry, father. It has been awhile." Athrun replied as he took his seat behind Commander Creuset.

Then Patrick looked at Wu and Le Creuset. "Needless to say, I agree with your report. The fact that the Naturals have developed such advanced Mobile Suits is a problem indeed. We'll forget about the pilots. I went ahead and erased all of the data concerning them…!" Patrick then noted Le Creuset's slight shaking.

"What is wrong?" he asked. Le Creuset looked up, a slightly fearful look on his features.

"I have something else to mention. You know the last two machines?" the commander asked. Patrick and Wu nodded. "Yes, why?" Wu asked. There was an inquiring look on his face.

Rau gulped. "Well, you see…the last two machines were built by…NASA…" he trailed off at Patrick's rising fury.

"WHAT?!" the defense chairman yelled. Athrun jumped in his seat at the shout. He had _never_ heard his father yell like that.

"You mean to tell us that NASA developed those machines?!" Wu yelled. Rau nodded in fear. "DAMN IT!" Patrick cursed. Then the man pinched his nose and sighed.

"That nation…they are _always_ a thorn in our side. We'll have to do something about them, considering how they are allies with the Earth Alliance…" Patrick sighed.

Rau looked up again, unsure of what he wanted to say. He had to choose his words carefully now, especially around Wu

"Well, sir, you see…NASA…they are also allies with us as well. Have you...not realized that?" he asked carefully.

"OF COURSE I KNOW THAT!" Wu yelled again. Once again, Athrun jumped in his seat.

A sigh escaped Patrick. "NASA needs to be eliminated from the game, but not destroyed…can you see to that Rau?" he asked.

"Of course." Rau replied. "Now back to the matter at hand. As I was saying, I went ahead and deleted the info on the pilots from the report." Wu explained.

Athrun stared at his father's cohort. Concealing something like that from the Council was not only illegal, but it was deceptive as well.

To surprise Athrun even further, Le Creuset agreed with the action. "Thank you very much sir. I knew that you would make the right decision."

"Just think of what the reaction would wind up being if we told the Council that Coordinators were piloting the machines. It would not only give the moderate faction something to use against us, but it would prompt…_her_…to action as well." Patrick replied.

"Wouldn't it be difficult for you to have your friend be referred to someone who has sided with the Earth Forces due to the report?" Le Creuset asked.

"No, but…" Athrun tried to speak but was cut off.

"The Naturals have created a Mobile Suit that can perform well, even with a Natural piloting it. That is the official report." Wu replied.

"Yes…"

"We must be more serious about this. Rau, I should be able to get you command of the task force that will hunt down the legged ship. The team will consist of the _Vesalius_, the _Gamow_, the 11th Fleet…and…the _7th Fleet_." Athrun's father said.

Le Creuset smirked at the response. "Commander White and Commander Kessel will not like that." he said.

"No, they won't. But they will have no choice but to deal with it." Wu replied.

"It does not matter in the end. For soon, those traitors will be dealt with, as well as NASA." Zane replied. "All of them deserve only one thing: Death."

* * *

_Washington D.C., NASA capital…_

The President looked over the data that was being sent back from the NASA forces to her office computer. So far, Le Creuset had not made any big moves after the Junius Seven affair. But that did not mean that he would not make anymore.

Several theories ran through her mind, all of them concerning her. One was that Le Creuset was not in league with Blue Cosmos, but with Patrick Zala and that they both wanted to rule the world. That one was quickly ruled out. There was no way that Zala could have know about the Nukes Le Creuset had bought.

Another theory was that Le Creuset was actually working for Blue Cosmos, and not for ZAFT. It seemed that he wanted all the Coordinators gone, so that was plausible to her. Yet, why would a _ZAFT_ official be helping the ones who wanted the PLANTs and Coordinators gone? That theory was ruled out as well.

So, what was Le Creuset planning then? And how was he connected to the Junius Seven attack? And what did he want with Nukes which were now useless?

* * *

_Thirty minutes later_

_Aprilius One…_

"I believe that you can understand from the course of events you just saw, our actions were not intended to destroy the colony. Due to the attack by the Earth Forces, the collateral damage was far worse than an attack caused by our forces. That concludes my report. Thank you for your time." Rau said, saluting the Council before taking his seat again.

"So ORB _was_ working with the Earth Forces all along…" Council Member Bill Henderson murmured. "_They_ are the ones that violated the treaty."

"Aren't you being a little premature?" Ian Kessel said. "ORB is more than able to design and build mobile suits and warships."

"But not to design and build mobile suits with the Earth Forces." Ezalia Joule said.

"Ah...But ORB didn't design those machines. _Morgenroete_ did." Helena Chang said. "And last time I checked, Morgenroete was a _company_, not a country. As such, they could do what they please."

"But Morgenroete is a corporation of ORB." Ezalia argued.

"Yes. But Morgenroete is an independent company and is not the ORB government. And we have a treaty with the ORB government, not Morgenroete." Ian replied.

"This only further illustrates that those living on Earth cannot be trusted." Herman Gould said.

Helena scoffed at the remark.

"Trusted? How arrogant is it to believe that we are the only trustworthy ones." Kessel said.

"However, Commander Le Creuset, are these prototype mobile suits worth all of the sacrifices that have been made by our forces?" Patrick Zala asked, interrupting their argument.

Rau Le Creuset stood up again. "To explain the new mobile suits and their capabilities to you, I have one of our pilots with me, who has not only piloted one of the new machines and fought against the three machines that have remained with the enemy. Athrun Zala. He will give you the report on these new mobile suits, with your permission of course."

"Hold on. Three machines? I thought the reports said that four were left." Helena replied.

A smirk appeared on Le Creuset's face. "ZAFT pilot Akira Nishikama recovered the Wing, one of the remaining machines, while he was on the ship. Of course, no one knew that he was ZAFT, so that was how he was able to take it back so easily."

"I will allow Athrun Zala to present his report." Siegel Clyne said.

Athrun saluted and approached the council. The display screens in the council's tables came to life, showing the first of the new machines, the Aegis.

"The first machine is the GAT-X303 Aegis. The one characteristic of this machine that stands out the most is the ability to transform. Due to the frame structure being different than five of the other machines, it can turn into a Mobile Armor. Upon the transformation, the Aegis wields the powerful 580-millimeter dual-phase energy cannon called Scylla. And just like the other machines, it is equipped with the Phase Shift armor, which has yet to be tested out in a real battle scenario. At the present time, we are re-programming the OS to bring out the full potential. Based on the specs as well, we know that the machines, in both technology and power to our main weapon, the GINN." Athrun explained.

Then the Duel came on the screens, a beam saber out.

"GAT-X102 Duel. This machine was developed with close-range combat against our forces in mind and has a wide range of uses. It is believed to have been the basis for the other machines. Like the other machines we have stolen, the Duel has anti-air system "Igelstellungs". The machine also has a beam saber and anti-beam shield for defense."

Next the Buster came up. It was firing its cannon, which was powerful.

"GAT-X103 Buster. This machine was developed with long-range attacks in mind. The Buster was built to provide fire support against snipers and from the rear, which is what we believe. As it has no shield, the Buster's 350-millimeter gun launcher has attachments that allow it to become an ultra-high impulse, long-range sniper rifle, or an anti-armor shotgun."

Then the Blitz came up. The machine raised up its arm and fired off its missiles.

"The GAT-X207 Blitz. This machine has a special feature called the Mirage Colloid. With it, the Blitz can disappear from view. By using gas particles that are released over the armor's surface, the machine can become invisible to the naked eye. The system has a drawback, however. When the Mirage Colloid is in use, the Phase Shift armor systems cannot be used. We believe that the Blitz was developed for blitzkrieg warfare. It also has its own weapons, which are the Trikeros and the Gleipnir."

"GAT-X204 'Surge'. This machine is not only the sister unit to the Blitz, but is also one of the fastest of all the mobile suits from Heliopolis. In fact, its maximum speed is faster than any of the current ZAFT mobile suits. The drawback however, is that repeated uses of its high-speed capabilities rapidly drain its battery. We believe that it was designed specifically as a counter to the high-speed mobile suits of the 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet. Its primary weapons are a 55mm beam rifle, a pair of anti-armor swords and the "Hakenfaust" triple claw weapon."

The Wing came next. It was shown firing off its Hellfire mini-missiles.

"This one was recovered by Akira Nishikama when he returned to ZAFT. It is the ORB-04-A Wing Gundam. This machine is unique in that it has two battery units: one for the speed it has, and one for the Phase Shift armor. The Wing is the result of a project between ORB and another nation, yet we cannot be sure of which nation it is. We believe that this machine was intended for hit and run attacks, due to the speed of it. Tests have shown that the Wing is the second fastest unit out of all the machines. The 2 battery units are the result of this. The Earth Forces, we believe, wanted a unit that could outlast the others. The main weapons are the Hellfire mini-missiles, the 75mm head-mounted Gatling guns, and the Seiko-katsu beam sabers. Other weapons are the dual 74mm hyper velocity beam rifle, the Taiyou-ko wing blades, and the 30mm Vulcan guns on the wings."

Then the Z.A.M. Gundam came up on the screens, firing its chest missiles.

"Now for the three that got out of our hands. The NAS-X117-A Z.A.M. Gundam. This machine is considered to be the sister unit of the Wing. This is because the Z.A.M. Gundam and the Wing were developed at the exact same time. This machine was designed to be a heavy-fire power unit, just like the Buster. Yet the Z.A.M. Gundam is not even the same in structure design. The reason for this is because the machine has missiles in the chest, the shoulders, and legs. There are laser cannons in the shoulders of this unit as well. For this, the machine also has 2 battery units. All of this firepower, however, means that the Z.A.M. Gundam is the slowest out of all the machines. That is why the Wing was developed as the sister unit to this unit. The Wing, we believe, was to be used in tandem with the Z.A.M. Gundam."

Next was the Raven. It appeared, firing off the twin barrels of its rail-gun. "GAT-X305 'Raven'. Like the Aegis, this machine is able to transform into a fighter-like mobile armor. Its mobile armor form also appears to be able to double as a flight platform for other machines. Its primary weapon is the dual 52mm hyper velocity railgun with a shield attachment. It's main weapons in its mobile armor mode is a pair of 76mm machineguns and the Ahura Mazda beam weapons mounted in the feet of the mobile armor. We suspect this machine was designed primary for atmospheric and space combat."

Finally, the Strike appeared on the screens.

"Finally, we have the GAT-X105 Strike. From what we have seen, the Strike is capable of various types of combat. The design allows the machine to switch between a number of different weapon packs, named the Launcher, Sword and Aile. The Launcher has a 320-millimeter ultra-high impulse cannon from what we can tell. We also have to assume that the pack also has a 120-millimeter anti-ship Vulcan cannon as well as a 350-millimeter gun launcher. The Sword pack gives the Strike a 15-meter long anti-ship blade as well as a beam boomerang. In addition to these packs, the unit also has two hip-mounted combat knives. We assume that this machine has the highest combat potential."

"That is all." Athrun said as he saluted and returned to his seat.

"They've actually gone and manufactured such abominations!" Jeremy Maxwell cried, disgust in his voice. "Those disgusting Naturals!"

"They're only in the trial stages. It's not like they are even a threat." Eileen Canaver replied.

"If they have come this far, though, then the next step is to mass-produce." Ezalia said.

Ian and Helena then suddenly laughed at the remarks they had heard. Everyone else stared at them. "I am sorry, but it is so ridiculous." Ian said. "You all call these things abominations, yet the Earth Forces are only doing what is needed to stay alive in war. If an enemy builds a better weapon, one needs to build a weapon that can counter it. You also did not pay much attention to the report." Helena spoke next. "In the report, there were two NASA machines mentioned. NASA has already built machines that can counter not only our GINNS, but also the Earth Forces' Mobile Armors. If they can build such machines, then why are we not attacking them? Hmm? Frankly, I am surprised that it took the Earth Forces this long to build such machines."

"How can you say such a thing?" Gould asked in anger. "This is a _clear_ indication of the Naturals' intentions! They crave war, a desire to wreak havoc and violence!"

Both just laughed again as Clyne spoke up. "Gould, you are not paying attention to her. NASA is made up of Naturals _and_ Coordinators. Yet you say that they desire only violence? If that is true, then why has NASA not yet attacked us? Few people, Natural or Coordinator, ever truly crave war." The Council leader snarled.

The female council member spoke up next. "Next, you will be saying that all Coordinators desire peace and that all Naturals are Blue Cosmos members. You underestimate NASA. Their Naturals are not like that. In fact, their Naturals are neutral and stay out of conflicts. If I did not know any better, I would say that your thinking is along the lines of a Blue Cosmos member." Helena smirked.

Her last comment sparked an outcry amongst the Council members. Clyne tried to restore order, yet it seemed futile until Wu spoke up.

"There is no one who truly desires to fight. Who among us actually likes to head out into the field of battle? We yearn to live peacefully, gracefully, and happily. That has _always_ been the wish of all Coordinators." Wu cried, his voice becoming louder as he spoke.

Helena just narrowed her eyes slightly at the words, as did Ian. She and Ian knew better, for she had served with some of the best of the elite…

"But who selfishly shattered that wish?! Who took away our freedoms to further their own selfish desires?! Who pushed us aside just to prove that they are better?! Who exploits us Coordinators?! The Naturals!" he continued.

"You say that _all_ Naturals are selfish? What about those who actually fight for our existence?! Huh?! NASA fights for us, and without them, we would not even have the right to exist! Hell, _no_ nation even _wants_ to challenge NASA!" Helena snarled. But Wu did not hear her.

"Who will never let us forget the terror of Junius Seven?! That Bloody Valentine tragedy! 243,721 people! All lost! It has been one year since that terrible day and abominable incident claimed so many of our fellow Coordinators! Yet, we have pondered on ways to end this war quickly. Our demands have been minor. Yet the Naturals have put our efforts to waste, time and time again!" Wu continued.

Helena just remained silent this time, knowing that what she was going to say had to wait until the man was done with his little 'speech'.

"We fight because we have to protect ourselves and our home! If we have to fight to defend ourselves, then we have no choice but to fight!" Wu concluded. Many Council members were silent, except for two…

"You really _do_ have a flare for the dramatic, Wu. Too bad it is all for nothing. Using the victims of Junius Seven as the rallying cry is an insult to their memory." Ian replied.

"But the famed United States did countless times!" Zala snarled back. Helena just stayed calm as she glared at Patrick and Wu, but mainly the latter.

"True, they did. But it was out of defense of their home nation. The United States had not been apart of any alliance. That was why they did. By trying to do the same thing against Naturals, you are insulting not only the victims of the tragedy, you are also insulting the United States itself." Helena replied in mock applause.

Wu could barely conceal his rage. "How _dare_ you!" he cried, unable to stop himself from yelling. "Our wives were killed at Junius Seven!"

"That is why someone like you should not even _be_ on this Council during this time of war." Ian replied. "True leaders, both military and political, _never_ use personal reasons as a way of fighting war. They must lead with a clear mind, and be free of any emotions that will lead them to making bad decisions for the nations. They must be willing to head any call to peace, no matter how small, and take any chance they have at it. NASA leaders are one such example. You, Wu, on the other hand, are unable to. And frankly, I fear the day you actually come to power, if that day ever comes that is…" Helena added. Her voice, while calm, also held a hint of rage at Wu's attitude.

Then, the Ian spoke. "My fellow Council members. As you know, Helena and I both come from a long line of soldiers who have served ZAFT proudly. We served in ZAFT's military for years before becoming members of the Council. In fact, our children are fighting in this war right now. We know how wars must be fought." Ian said as he stood up.

Helena nodded before taking over. "We have to fight this war with clear minds, not minds that are consumed by rage and hatred for the Naturals. Naturals are fighting with us, and they are from NASA. The war has to be fought for peace and peaceful co-existence with Naturals and Earth. It must never be fought for retribution. Seeking such a thing will only lead to more hatred, death, pain, and suffering."

Chang looked the Council over with her red eyes.

"An eye for an eye will make the whole world, not just us, blind to peace. I call on all of you, do not let this war become personal. Don't let this war become a thing of revenge for those lost at Junius Seven. Don't let this war become an outlet for your rage and hatred. Nothing good will ever come of that. We _must_ be better than those who destroyed Junius Seven. The war cannot end the way it was started. If it does, then this war will just become an extension of the next one surely to come. We have to ensure that our children, their children, and the children-to-be never suffer from our mistakes again." She finished.

A glare from Hong Fa Wu told her that their shared speech had hit home. Yet she knew her work and Ian's work was not done…

* * *

_An hour and a half later_

_Hong Fa Wu's office…_

"Damn those two!" Wu swore. "Those stubborn fools just cannot see what needs to be done for this war! They'll ruin everything! There _has_ to be a way to remove them!"

Le Creuset sighed as Wu continued to rant with Zala listening in. Helena Chang and Ian Kessel were truly difficult political opponents. Though they were fighting for the war, they were against Zala, Wu, and Wu's radical views and supportive of Clyne's moderate methods. They also sought to end the war peacefully. Plus, both had Clyne's backing as well. Wu did not.

"Perhaps, but unfortunately, both Ian and Helena have great influence with the military." Rau explained softly. "They have the support of many of our armed forces, and both were two of our top commanders at one point. Not only that, Helena is also a supporter of NASA. Our power is not good enough to take on such a strong nation. And Ian's wife is one of our top Admirals! Plus, his daughter is in command of one of our best units. Any direct actions against him and Helena at this moment could be disastrous to our cause."

"We would not be in this mess if your assassin had done his job properly!" Wu snarled back. "If he had taken out Alaric like he was supposed to, then we would have not only discredited the Kessel family, but we would have had the 11th Fleet under our command!"

"At least the assassin removed Alaric…" Rau meekly replied.

Alaric had been a major problem for them. On the one hand, he and the 11th Fleet had become icons of ZAFT's military might. But unfortunately, he was strongly opposed to Patrick Zala and his faction. Worse yet, from the early days of the war, he had been extremely suspicious of both of them. Alaric had becoming close to uncovering things that they had both sought to keep buried. Fortunately, they had a mole within the 11th Fleet who had informed them of all of this.

The three of them had created out a detailed plan for eliminating Alaric and then framing Diana Kessel as his killer and an Earth Forces spy, thus allowing a more supportive commander to take over the 11th Fleet. It would have also tainted the reputation of the Kessel family, branding them with the suspicion of treachery and would have greatly weakened their support.

Unfortunately, by pure chance, Diana Kessel discovered the assassin in the act of killing Alaric and killed him. Alaric was fatally wounded, though she killed the assassin before he could name them. Naturally, he labeled an Earth Forces spy. And Diana Kessel replaced her mentor, John Alaric, as commander of the 11th.

Though Diana disliked and didn't trust Zala, Wu, or himself, she didn't seem to continuing his investigation into the two of them. Or at very least, didn't have anything she could use at the moment, which was fortunate as she was a wild card that could possibly disrupt their plans. And any disruption this late in the game could jeopardize everything he had worked for.

Perhaps he'd see about getting the legged ship and its mobile suits to deal with her.

But the 7th Fleet was a real threat

* * *

_January 30th, C.E. 71_

_Archangel…_

Nisha looked at a picture of himself and Akira, Akira being shown glancing at the camera out of the corner of his golden eyes. The light-blue haired boy felt tears come to his eyes. "Why? Why did you have to betray me?" he asked the picture.

There was no answer, just silence. Nisha was still in shock about it, yet he had not revealed it to anyone. They would never understand.

He sighed as the Coordinator put the picture back onto his desk. Nisha recalled how close he and Akira had been, but after Akira had gone to join ZAFT, they had not been as close as they had once been.

Nisha sat on his bed, yearning for his cousin to return to him, yet it seemed that he would not. Not now that he was with ZAFT. '_What happened to you, Akira? When did you become so different?'_ he thought. The boy felt something surging within him and he drew back a fist, punching the bedsheets in his anger and frustration. Tears ran down his face as he sat there. "Why?!" he cried. "Why must this happen to us?!"

Outside the room, Taikyu peered in the open door, only to see his only son sitting on the bed, tears running down his face. Pity filled the man's body, yet he could not stand seeing his son like this.

Then, it hit the older man. The war was tearing their family apart. Tears began to form in his eyes as well at the realization. How many lives had to be taken, how many families torn apart by war, how many innocents dragged into a war that had nothing to do with them? Taikyu just wished that he knew.

Yet, it seemed not to be. His family was suffering, all because of the damn war. They were being torn apart, and it seemed that the rift was beginning to grow even larger, all because of one attack. His son was feeling isolated, all because he was a Coordinator, and because of the betrayal of his cousin.

"Why must we mistreat Coordinators? What do we get out of it, and what do we expect to gain?" Taikyu asked himself. He did not receive a reply.

The man stood there, arm on the wall, hoping that the war would turn out for the better, if it could. It seemed that Naturals would always be hateful towards the Coordinators, and always trying to wipe them out. That was the fate that the Coordinators were forced to endure for all of their lives. Akira had to learn that the hard way…

* * *

_February 1st, C.E. 71_

_Helena Chang's office…_

Helena sighed as she entered her office. "Damn that Hong Fa Wu…" she muttered. "How _dare_ he insult one of the greatest nations to have ever existed…"

She fell back into her chair and brought up a screen that showed a PLANT colony. A smirk crossed her face. Even if Le Creuset was powerful, there was one group that was even more secretive than his little mole group. Even he could not defeat _them_…

A beeping then alerted Helena to a call. The councilwoman then hit the button and answered it. "Helena Chang here. What is it?"

_"We need to talk."_ It was Clyne. Her red eyes widened in surprise, yet she let him in without as much as a protest.

Once he was in and seated, Chang then faced Clyne. "What are you doing here, sir?" she asked in a polite tone. Siegel sighed as he looked up at her.

"I want to talk to you about Hong Fa Wu and your attitude towards him." Siegel explained in a serious tone. Helena gulped. "About that?"

"Look, I know that you feel he does not belong on the council and that he is a threat with no restraints on him politically. I feel the same way, yet if I was to argue against him, it would cause internal strife within ZAFT. We cannot have that in a time of war." Siegel said as he put his head on his hands.

"I know that, sir. But if he comes to power, who knows what could happen! No offense, sir, but I feel that he needs to have some sort of political restraint on him. Even if it is a small one, it will be better than nothing." Helena persisted. Siegel just shook his head.

"No. I know that you are a reasonable woman and strong-willed. That, combined with the fact that you are so clearheaded, is what makes you a threat to any opposing council members. It also makes you one of the few that can lead us through this war." Siegel added.

Helena just gaped. She knew it was unprofessional for her to be doing so, but she was just too stunned at his words. "Me?" she asked in a high voice. "But what can I do? I'm just the Relations Department head!" she exclaimed.

Siegel looked at her as if seeing into her very soul. "That may be true, but it also puts you in a prime position to learn as much as you can about the world and its current state of affairs. It makes you the prime candidate for Supreme Council leader office! That is why I came to talk to you about this. Wu is going to run for my office in the next elections. By having you run for Supreme Council leader, Wu will have a real tough opponent on his hands. Not to mention, you will also be more aware of the world around him, _and_ you will be the perfect leader to run the PLANTs should you win." He explained.

Helena just stared at him. "You want me to _run_ for the office that you hold?!" she exclaimed in shock.

The PLANT Supreme Leader nodded. "That is the plan. Not only would it deter Wu from running also, but it would also give us the opportunity to keep the council in check."

Helena gaped for a moment. That was his plan?! She then shook her head. "No, I can't. I just can't do it. I do not wish to run." Helena said sadly.

Siegel grabbed her shoulders. "How could you say that?!" he snarled. "You know those two better than anyone else on the council!"

"And that is why I refuse to run for your office. It would give Wu the opportunity to try and have me killed. Plus, it is not a part of my nature to hold such a powerful office." Helena replied.

Siegel then sighed. Once Helena had made up her mind, it could not be changed. "Well then, Helena, I guess I can't force you to run. I just want you to know, you are the best one to run the colonies." He said before he turned to leave her office. The door opened, then hissed shut as Helena put her head in her hands.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as Helena tried to figure out what she needed to do to help out the PLANTs. Siegel wanted her to run for his position, yet she could not. She was only the Relations Councilor. There was no way that she could win against someone like Patrick Zala or Hong Fa Wu. He was the Defense Chairman for crying out loud! And Wu was the Internal Affairs Chairman!

"Why, Siegel? Why me? Why did you have to choose me?!" she whimpered. Helena knew that she was not capable of overcoming Wu's influence. What could she do?!

She was just a lowly department leader, not the chairwoman of it! How could she expect to win against someone of his power?! Siegel was crazy if he believed that she had the ability to win! There was no way that she could. Yet, why was she feeling this way? She did not know.

Helena sobbed as she sat at her desk. Sure, it was unprofessional, but what else could she do against such a powerful man? She did not have the political influence that Wu had either, and that was hard to gain.

But, what could she do to stop him? She just wish that she knew…

* * *

_Constitution…_

Akira sat in his room, looking at a necklace his sister had given him the day before she had been attacked. It said 'Supernova' in Japanese, the one thing that reminded her of him. At the same time, it served as a reminder to Akira, of his sister.

"Why? Why did they attack her and no one else?" he murmured as he turned the thing over in his hands. His golden eyes held sadness, only for a tear to land on the symbol softly. Akira was now crying.

The Coordinator gritted his teeth as his hand clenched around the necklace. Why could no one understand his pain?! Not even his cousin could understand what had happened that day!

He looked at an image of him and his cousin, only to knock the frame to the floor. But no impact was heard. The frame just floated in the low gravity of space, making Akira snarl before he looked away from the floating frame.

Akira stood up and looked at the stars outside his room window. The bleakness of space seemed to fit his mood. Yet the stars continued to shine, as if in defiance of the black cover that seemed to take them. It never ceased to amaze Akira, how the stars seemed to shine without any help. The boy then looked away and fell onto the bed, ready to fall asleep…

* * *

_Three hours later_

_NASA PLANT, New Juneau..._

Several ZAFT ships drifted by a single PLANT, the one that was home to a force that many considered to be undefeatable. Yet, they were not. This force was the Special Operations unit of the NASA armed forces. And their base of operations was New Juneau.

A lone ZAFT ship dared to venture near the PLANT, only to set in motion a tactical retreat maneuver only a second later. Out of the PLANT came several ships that ZAFT did not dare to face in combat.

Each ship had different body designs, meaning that they were not of ZAFT origin. When these ships were seen, it was time to retreat. And retreat they did, for a battle with those ships would mean certain capture and potential death…

A form stood in shadow as she observed the ships of her unit. "ZAFT would not dare risk a battle or confrontation with us…so why did that one ship try to get near?" the form wondered.

"Perhaps they are trying to spy on us…" Another form, a male, mused.

The first form just stares at the screen. "Or maybe Le Creuset is trying to take us out. Bad move on his part…"

"Look up all of the data you can find on the ZAFT commander. We need to find out what he is plotting with Zala…"

"Yes, ma'am."

The first form then turned back to see the ZAFT ships retreating. "Hmph. ZAFT commanders don't know when to actually face us in combat. They claim to be all tough and then run from us. How sad indeed…"

She then contemplated the Earth Alliance. "The EA claims to be as tough as ZAFT, and in a sense, they are. But when they face us, they turn and run, just like with ZAFT…at least the Earth Alliance has the numbers. But ZAFT has the tech. That is what makes ZAFT more of a threat to us. Yet the numbers of the EA make them a threat as well. How interesting…" the form mused.

As the ZAFT ships fled, the form wondered what was going to happen next. What awaited the world as it fought over the rights of Coordinators?

* * *

_February 2nd, C.E. 71_

_Debris Belt…_

Nisha sighed as he flew the Z.A.M. Gundam around any debris and garbage that was in his way. He, Chris, and Kira had spilt up to check out the area for any supplies that would be useful to the crew and ship. Once they found something, they were to alert the ship and a team would be sent out to retrieve the supplies. At the moment, however, nothing had been found.

Chris's com-line then beeped.

_"Hey Chris, have you found anything yet?"_ Liz asked.

"Nothing yet, Liz." Chris replied as he moved under some floating debris. "This is beginning to look like a…"

He froze as soon as he was around the hunk of rock.

_'No…It can't be…'_

Nisha wondered what was wrong with Chris and moved over to his location, only to be stopped by the memories as well.

_"Nisha? What is it? Nisha?!"_ Taikyu called out to his son, unable to stand the silence.

_"Chris? What is it? Chris? Brother, are you there? What do you see?"_ Liz asked over the radio.

Both of the Coordinators' thoughts were on what was in front of them. Chris was unsure as to how he was able to respond, but he did. Nisha did not though.

_"Nisha? What is going on?! Nisha!"_ Taikyu cried frantically.

"Home…" Chris replied. His voice was faint and soft. "Home…"

Taikyu's face and Liz's face then became pale as they realized what Chris was talking about.

"What is he talking about, Taikyu?" Captain Ramius asked.

"Our home before the whole war started…Junius Seven itself." Taikyu replied in a terrified voice.

"The colony where we had originally lived…" Liz added.

* * *

The North American Security Alliance makes another appearance. Can anyone guess which nation involved in it strikes fear into Le Creuset and Wu? Anyone who gets it right will get a chance to have an OC appear in my fic, but as I already have too many good guys and too many ZAFT officers, I need an OC for the Earth Alliance, mainly an Extended. Anyways, keep up the reviews! Constructive criticism is appreciated, and any flames will be deleted or reported if there are any left. Thanks! ^^


	8. Phase 7: Scar of Space

Phase Seven: Scar of Space

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: Your OC will come in near the last part of the first arc here, no sooner, no later. But he WILL be used. :3**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those with an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are.**

**Anyway, please read and review!**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

_February 2nd, C.E. 71_

_Archangel…_

_"You cannot be serious, Mu!"_ Kira cried. _"You can't honestly expect us to take our supplies from a PLANT where thousands of lives were lost!"_

_"Look, no one here is jumping for joy. The fact that water and the supplies we need can be found there is the reason we are here. We have to do what we can to survive. And besides, there are two people here whom we have not heard a reaction from yet." _Mu replied as he looked at Chris. _"What do you think we should do?"_

"You want to know what we should do? Why?" the boy asked.

"_This _was_ your home, right? So I feel that we should hear your thoughts on taking the water and supplies we need from here." _Mu replied.

"…" Chris was silent for a few minutes before he spoke up. "Well, truth be told…I don't want to do so, yet we do not have another choice. We should take what we need and nothing more. After all, they would want us to survive…"

_"I lost my wife here, yet I agree with Chris. She would want us to survive, so we will do it."_ Taikyu added.

Nisha nodded in confirmation, his face visible on the screen.

* * *

_Ruins of Junius Seven_

_An hour later…_

The Z.A.M. Gundam, the Raven, the Strike, the Moebius Zero, and several Mistrals set down in a familiar park to Nisha and Chris. It was the same place that Nisha had heard about what happened to Akira's sister, and the same place where Chris had met his best friend.

-_Nisha's Flashback_-

_Ten years ago…_

_Nisha looked around, trying to find his cousin. Then, he heard crying. "Aki'?" he cried._

_The young Coordinator glanced around quickly, trying to find the source of the crying right away. A familiar sight caught his eyes. It was his uncle and aunt!_

_"Auntie Lisa! Uncle Hiro!" Nisha cried. He ran over to the two adult Coordinators, only to see a sad look in their eyes._

_Lisa Nishikama looked as though she had not been sleeping well for the past three weeks, her red eyes holding a sleep-deprived look. Her black hair was not combed back and in its usual hair-tie either._

_Young Nisha looked over at Hiro Nishikama, who also was holding a sad look on his face. His normally vibrant golden eyes were now clouded over with sadness and his normally neat blue hair was sticking out in every direction possible. He looked the same as Lisa._

_In their arms was their own son, Akira. He looked the worst out of them all. His black hair was a mess, like it had not been combed at all. His golden eyes were barely open and he was not acknowledging his cousin or surroundings._

_"What happened, Auntie?" Nisha asked. Lisa looked at him, a sad feeling coming off of her. "Your cousin Minako…was…killed…" she finally rasped out._

_Nisha just blinked his eyes, unable to understand what had happened. "Why? What did she do?" he asked._

_"She did nothing wrong…" Hiro explained. Nisha was now even more confused, yet he just let it slide. However, he was unaware of what was about to take place in the future, a decade from now…_

-_End Nisha's Flashback_-

-_Chris's Flashback_-

_Junius Seven_

_Seven Years Ago_

_A trio of bullies was beating up on a smaller, younger boy in the middle of a park._

_"What a pathetic loser!"_

_"Yeah. Who in their right mind would think that a Natural is as good as a Coordinator?"_

_"We'll show this piece of trash just how wrong he is!"_

_"Hey ugly!" Chris shouted, kicking one of the older boys in the back. "Didn't your mommy teach you to pick on someone your own size?"_

_The bully fell forward, hitting the pavement. He was out cold. His two buddies turned and started shouting at him._

_"What are you doing?"_

_"Why are you defending a traitor to his own people?"_

_"A traitor to his own people?" Chris said in confusion._

_"Yeah." the first bully said. "This traitor claims that those filthy Naturals are as good as us Coordinators. So we're teaching him a lesson."_

_Chris glanced at the boy. The boy was about his age and look terrified and in rough shape. Whatever the boy said, it wasn't enough for anyone to have the right to beat him like that._

_"Well in that case...I have to agree with him. You two are about as stupid and as bigoted as those Blue Cosmos nutjobs!" Chris said to the larger and older boys._

_"Why you little punk!" one of the bullies shouted as he swung his fist at him._

_Now Chris may have been smaller and younger than these two, but he had one clear advantage over these guys. For the last few years, he had been taking martial arts lessons and he was quite good at it. In fact, his instructor told him that by next year, he would be ready to participate in tournaments and competitions._

_Chris raised his left arm, blocking the punch. Then before he could pull back, Chris kicked the bully in the stomach as hard as he could. The punk stumbled back, clutching his stomach and moaning. To everyone's surprise, he fell to his knees and started throwing up. The second bully, fearful of losing his own lunch and without his two buddies to back him up, ran away. A moment later, the one that lost his lunch joined him. They were complete cowards. They harassed people that were smaller than them and wouldn't fight back. But as soon as someone fought back, they would flee like the cowards they are._

_Chris walked up to the battered boy lying on the ground. "You okay?" he asked, kneeling down._

_"Yeah..." the boy said. "You didn't have to help me."_

_"True. But it was three against one and wasn't about to let a bunch of spineless bullies beat up somebody." he replied, extending his hand. "Here."_

_The boy took his hand and Chris helped him get back up to his feet. The boy was in pretty rough shape. He had a number of bruises and cuts but nothing appeared to be broken. "C'mon, I'll take you to my parents. They're doctors." he said, helping the injured boy walk to his house. "My name's Chris, Chris Dante."_

_"I'm-" _

-_End Chris's Flashback_-

_"CHRIS"_ Kira cried over the radio.

"Huh? What?" Chris asked over the radio, now back in reality.

_"You spaced out for a few minutes. You alright?"_ Nisha inquired, deeply concerned.

"Yeah, just caught up in a few memories…" Chris replied.

_"You know, you don't have to be here. You can always head back to the ship."_

"I'll be fine, Kira. Really, I will." Chris lied. In reality though, he was feeling like it was all a bad idea. Setting down the Raven on what had once been his home was unnerving enough as it was. But to be at the park that he was so familiar with? It was even more unsettling. This fact was made even worse by the fact that this very park was a few blocks from the place where he had grown up.

The Mistrals crews began to leave their vehicles. Taikyu left the one he came in, and in his arms were paper flowers made for the victims. Flay and the other children rescued by the _Archangel_ had made them in remembrance.

The man threw the paper flowers into the air, scattering them across the ruins of their former home. Everyone, pilot and civilian alike, took a minute of silence to remember the victims as well.

Once that was over, the crews began to go about their various duties. The Z.A.M. Gundam, the Raven, the Strike and the Moebius Zero all patrolled, just in case.

* * *

_Ten minutes later_

_Constitution…_

Commander White sighed as he looked at the now-famed legged ship. They had stopped at the ruins of Junius Seven, no doubt for supplies. A chill sent shivers down his spine at the thought of helping the ones who had caused the attack and all those deaths.

Even though the 'Maverick Fleet' was considered a traitorous fleet, they were still part of ZAFT. And that made his skin crawl. "Why do we have to work with those creeps anyway?" he growled.

Aisha looked at the commander. "We have to, sir, otherwise more colonies could be attacked as well."

"I _know_ that! I just wish that we could get rid of Zala and Le Creuset and have that be the end of it…" Commander White murmured. Aisha just looked away, tears forming in her eyes. She too wished for the same thing, yet it was just impossible at the moment.

Many of the crew members were now weeping at the sight of the ruins of the once great PLANT. Even though they were not from the colony, they still felt the loss hard.

"Let us enter the area and pay our respects." Commander White ordered. A few crew members turned to look at him in shock.

"B-B-But sir! We would be discovered!" Aisha cried. "It is a chance we will have to take, then." Her superior replied, his voice sounding quite heavy.

"Yes, sir…" she replied.

In a blaze of fire, the famed ships entered the ruins of Junius Seven. Each crew member held a paper flower that was to be released into the empty vacuum of space that had claimed so many lives. Those crew members in space suits took the flowers as the ship entered the space of the colony's center.

The doors on the sides of the ships opened up as did the hangers. Her crew members leaned out and released the flowers, which drifted around the empty space like little fluff particles in a breeze.

The famed 'Maverick Fleet' then left the area, the doors and hanger bays closing as they did so silently. Yet the flowers made in remembrance would remain, a single mark left by the ships that many had fallen to…

* * *

_Archangel Bridge…_

An alarm sounded as the radar operator gasped in shock at the distorted radar signature that had appeared on the screen before him.

"Ma'am, we have three radar signatures! They are three _Nazca_-class ships!" he exclaimed as Mu ran over and the Murrue faced him.

"Where is it coming from?" Murrue asked. The radar operator looked at the screen and determined the approximate position. "The signatures are off the port side at a distance of 2000." He exclaimed.

Murrue was surprised. "What kind of ships has the radar signature of a _Nazca_-class?" she asked.

Mu stared at the screen before he spoke. "The 'Maverick Fleet'…" he murmured. Murrue whirled to face him in shock.

"The 'Maverick Fleet'? You mean the famed ZAFT ships of the 7th Independent Mobile Fleet?!" she exclaimed.

Mu nodded, his face grim. "Yeah…that's them. But why are they here?"

"Are they making any movements to attack?" the captain asked the radar operator.

"No ma'am. They appear to be passing through Junius Seven instead. I've got a visual of the three ships." He replied as he brought up an image on the screen.

The image came up, revealing the three ships before them, but there was something off. There were open areas that indicated the doors and hanger doors were not shut. And out from those areas came paper flowers, not an attack force.

"Well, it appears even the 'Maverick Fleet' can be peaceful…" Murrue observed as the flowers drifted out slowly.

Mu smiled softly. "Their crew _is_ made up of Coordinators. Even they are not as ruthless as some believe."

The captain just smiled back, already knowing that an attack was not a danger now.

Both of them just looked on, knowing the reason for the famed ships being in the area was peaceful. Therefore, they would leave them alone for now…

* * *

_Hours later_

_Archangel_…

Chris collapsed in his room later that night. He was tired emotionally as well as physically. Just as he was about to fall into sleep's calming embrace though, he heard a knock on the door.

"Come on in." Chris called as he sat up.

The door hissed open, revealing Flay. "What do you want, Flay?" Chris groaned. He was _so_ not in the mood for a name-calling.

"I just wanted to say that…I'm sorry about your home." She said, making Chris look up at her in shock.

"Don't. I have heard enough about that. I just wish that people would stop pitying me after they learn where I am truly from." Chris growled back.

Flay seemed to hesitate though, as though she wanted to say more.

"What else do you have to say?" Chris asked.

"I…I just wanted to say that…Well, you see, before the war broke out, I never thought too highly of Coordinators. In fact, I kind of believed what Blue Cosmos had to say about them. But when the war broke out, I believed that _all_ Coordinators were with ZAFT and the bad guys who wanted to wipe out _all_ Naturals, kind of like the Nazis in the war known as World War 2, while the Earth Forces were the good guys, just like the Allies. I actually _believed_ that lie! Even though the Earth Forces caused the loss of all of those lives, I completely ignored it. I believed that the war would never affect me because I was living in a neutral colony. But when the attack occurred, I found that everything _did_ affect me as well. I also found that all of those things that I had heard about Coordinators were wrong." Flay confessed suddenly. "I also believed that there were only two sides to every war. I never even bothered to learn that NASA was fighting the war as well, yet on a neutral front. _That_ is what I really want to apologize for."

Chris stared at Flay as she hung her head. "I was unable to believe that Coordinators were human as well, and when I heard that your friend lost his sister to some Naturals, I believed that she had deserved it. But she had done _nothing_ wrong to deserve such a death… But now it is too late to say that I am sorry to him as well. I should not have said those things about his sister to him…" Flay murmured.

Then, Chris put a hand on her shoulder. "I accept your apology. Heck, if he was here, even Akira would have. I know him. He is not one to stay mad for long, yet the loss of his sister has made it hard for him to move on…" Chris replied. "Believe it or not, I did not think too highly of Naturals either. I thought they were all stubborn, bigoted idiots, even though my grandfather was one. Then about seven years ago, I was walking home from school when I saw a boy my age getting beaten up by some punks. They were beating him up because he said that Coordinators weren't better than Naturals. I felt the same disgust towards those bullies that I had for Blue Cosmos. And that was when I realized that Coordinators could be just as bad as members of Blue Cosmos. I defended the boy and after that, we quickly became best friends."

Chris didn't know why, but something was compelling to him to say this to her. Something he hadn't said to anyone before

"He believed that most people, whether they were Coordinator or Natural, just wanted to live peacefully together, that we were all the same. That we all have the same dreams, hopes, fears." Chris said, his mind going back to the times before the Bloody Valentine. "He was a lot like Kira. He hated violence and was a complete pacifist. In fact, when I rescued him from those bullies, he was actually more worried about me getting involved and getting hurt than what happened to him."

"He's dead, isn't he?"

"Yes..." Chris said quietly. "He was killed in the Bloody Valentine. And not a day goes by that I don't miss him. Along with my parents and all my other friends I lost that terrible day."

"But the worst thing I ever did happened after that terrible day. I became angry at just about everyone; the Earth Alliance for not preventing the Bloody Valentine, Blue Cosmos for doing such a horrible act, and ZAFT for failing to protect my friends and family and then using their deaths as a rallying cry for war. I blamed them all for that tragedy. I even blamed myself for not being and dying with them." Chris said, shame filling his voice. "I found myself being consumed by all that anger and pain. I started picking fights with people for on real reason. I don't know why I did it. Maybe I wanted to hurt those responsible but ended up hurting innocent people. Maybe I wanted to feel something other anger and sorrow. Maybe I just wanted someone to kill me."

Suddenly, Flay embraced him in a hug. And for the first time since the Bloody Valentine, he cried. He cried for all those that he had lost.

* * *

_Pilot lounge…_

Nisha sat on one of the couches as he looked at the picture of his cousin. He was still unable to get over the betrayal that Aki' had pulled on him and the rest of the crew of the _Archangel_. Sighing, he put the photo on the table in front of him and put his head in his hands.

A hiss told him someone had entered the room, but he was not expecting Liz Dante to sit down beside him. "You okay?" she asked as Nisha looked at her.

"No, I'm not. My cousin betrayed the ship, and I still can't get over it. I thought he was past the trauma he suffered that day!" Nisha snarled as he slammed his fist down on the table.

Liz looked down, unsure of what to say. "I thought he was on our side! I thought he had moved on!" Nisha said as he closed his eyes, his form shaking with anger and sadness. "But I guess I was wrong."

The other Coordinator placed a hand on his shoulder, making Nisha turn to her in shock. Realizing what she had done, Liz removed her hand quickly, looking away from Nisha as she did so. On her face was a very light flush, unseen by Nisha. In a realization that he was staring at her form, Nisha also looked away, a slight flush on his cheeks as well.

"I…uh…am sorry about what you went through…" Liz said as she regained her composure. "Did you…live in Junius Seven?"

Nisha nodded sadly. "Yeah…I lost my mom there. My dad was at work with Morgenroete when the attack happened. I was visiting him when I got the news. It was just…I can't even begin to describe the attack…" He shivered as the memories drifted back from the past. He could still recall everything that happened, and the fact that it had been a year since that day didn't make it any better.

Liz put a hand to her mouth. "Oh…I'm sorry…" she whispered.

Nisha waved a hand. "It's okay…I'm used to it."

Liz then stood up. "If you feel better, I'll be in the bridge." She then turned and left, Nisha staring after her.

* * *

_February 5th, C.E. 71_

_Ruins of Junius Seven…_

The days had been quiet and long since they had found the ruins of Junius Seven in space. Except for a minor incident involving the 'Maverick Fleet' coming in on radar, nothing big had occurred. Kira wasn't complaining either. He preferred it over fighting anyway.

_"That was _way_ too close…"_ he heard Chris mutter over the com-line. _"I just shot down a GINN guys!"_

_"It's a long-range scout…"_ Mu murmured. _"It's unlikely that a ZAFT warship is nearby, but there may be more out there. Keep a close eye on things. Ensign Badgiruel, how much longer until supplies are loaded on?"_

_"Al least an hour, if not more."_ She replied.

_"Good. Once we are done, we will head out to be on the safe side."_ Captain Ramius ordered. _"We will head for Lunar HQ once we are done here."_

Kira then resumed his patrol. Soon, he would be away from this war, back on the moon where he had once been. Safe and free from all war…

He moved around a piece of debris, only to spot a damaged civilian shuttle. Under normal circumstances, he would have passed it off as space junk, but the shuttle and its damage seemed to be too new. Kira had to wonder if the famed 'Maverick Fleet' was behind it or if the shuttle had been a victim of pirate attacks. The former seemed to be the most unlikely, considering that it was ZAFT, but he could not rule out that they _had_ attacked ZAFT fleets in the past. With the ZAFT and Earth Alliance militaries fighting the war, no one was available to patrol the civilian space routes and piracy had increased dramatically.

Suddenly, a GINN appeared in front of the shuttle. The computer on the Strike identified it as a GINN Long-Range Reconnaissance Type, and the machine seemed to be inspecting the shuttle. It was searching for something, but as to what it was, eluded Kira.

He moved the Strike behind a big chunk of debris, hoping that the GINN would leave before it spotted anyone else. Kira did not want to kill anymore. The GINN, seemingly satisfied with the search on the shuttle, turned to leave the area.

It was not meant to be, unfortunately. As the Mistral that Kuzzey was on started the return to the _Archangel_, the flight path took it right near the shuttle. The GINN looked back, only to see the smaller ship. The machine's optic flared as it headed towards the Mistral.

"NO! DAMN IT ALL!" Kira swore as he flew to intercept. "Why couldn't you just leave?!"

He knew that he had no choice but to kill again. If the GINN spotted the _Archangel_, then it would be all over for them.

The Coordinator aimed the Strike's rifle at the GINN and pulled the trigger a few times, releasing a hail of bullets. The GINN was destroyed instantly by the incoming shots.

_"Thanks, kid. That was a close one."_ A female by the name of Jackie Tonomaru replied.

_"Yeah, thanks a lot Kira."_ Kuzzey added.

Kira, on the other hand, did not feel so great about saving them. There was a sick feeling in his stomach and he felt like he was going to throw up. He had killed someone again, and he did not like it at all. Why did he have to even be involved in this war? Why did it have to happen in the first place anyway?

He shook his head and sighed as he resumed the patrol, yet he still felt sick. A few minutes later, Kira saw something. It was a lone escape pod floating amongst the debris.

_'Could it actually be from that shuttle? Is someone still alive out here?'_

Deciding to be safe than sorry, the boy had the Strike grab the pod and he took it back to the _Archangel_. Maybe this was not such a bad day after all…

* * *

_Washington D.C., NASA Capital…_

The leaders of NASA were some of the most powerful in the world, not because of their money or political reputation, but because they were the leaders of the most powerful nation to have ever existed.

Very few wanted to mess with such a powerful nation, mainly because of its economic and military might. Even ZAFT and the PLANTs respected the leaders when they visited the space colonies. And for very good reason too. The PLANTs relied on NASA for aid in times of need.

But the one who was the most powerful, was the President herself. The President sighed as she looked at the papers on her desk. They were reports for the NASA military's Special Operations unit, a force that was considered part of ZAFT yet was not.

"Ma'am, we have a new report for you." An aide said as he handed the woman the slip of paper. The NASA President nodded.

"Thank you. I'll view it when I have the time." She replied. The aide saluted before leaving her office.

The U.S. leader viewed another report before she put it down and turned on the TV that was in the Oval Office. A news report had come up concerning the war between the PLANTs and the Earth.

_"In light of the recent battles, the PLANTs have issued a declaration stating that they are waging the war only in self-defense. Many Earth Alliance nations have declared the declaration to be false, and to be a means of waging war on the Naturals. ORB has recently begun to mobilize its own military in preparation for what they feel is a certain attack by the Earth Forces. Lord Uzumi Nara Attha had this to say."_

An image of the ORB leader came on next, making the President frown at the sight of him. What was he thinking?

_"We of ORB have begun to mobilize our armed forces in self-defense against the Earth Alliance. We feel that they will be coming after our Mass Driver next, as we have one of the only two left functioning. The other, in NASA's possession, may be a target next, although we are not taking any chances. This war with the PLANTs is going too far. By fighting to wipe out the Coordinators, the Earth Alliance will do anything to gain an advantage, which is why we have begun the mobilization of our forces."_

The image on the screen then changed again, this time to show the capital of NASA outside.

She smirked to herself. Her interview had been three hours ago. Now she got to see it for herself.

_"In response, we got this statement from NASA's own leader."_

The image changed yet again, this time to show her in the Press Room.

_"We of NASA have recently heard about ORB's decision to mobilize their armed forces in self-defense. In response to this, we have begun to move our own forces to defend our own Mass Driver. We feel that if ORB's Mass Driver is taken, ours will be next to be targeted. Our Intelligence has supported the feeling as well, as we have seen recent movement by the Earth Forces to attack our borders in the near future. This recent movement to attack us has revealed the intentions of the Earth Alliance to attack the PLANTs. They are willing to risk an engagement with us to gain control of our Mass Driver, even though they have stated that they would never attack us in the past. In light of this contradicting information, we have decided to fight alongside ZAFT to protect the PLANTs and the Coordinators. Naturals should not hate the Coordinators for simply being the next step up in evolution. They are our future, and our potential salvation. If we are to survive this war, _ALL_ humans, we need to end the hatred of Coordinators. Our reason for fighting the Earth Alliance is simple: to get rid of Blue Cosmos, the terrorist organization that is responsible for the Bloody Valentine. We will support ZAFT until this war has ended."_

The image then changed one last time, this time showing the reporter once again.

_"With these two leaders on different sides, it seems that NASA and ORB are willing to be enemies despite their alliance with one another. Either of these two great nations could lead the way to victory in this war. We will return with more information on the ongoing war and then a report on Coordinators and how they affect us all…"_

The TV went dark. A frown was on the NASA leader's face. "A report on Coordinators and how they affect us all indeed…how pathetic…" she murmured.

The leader of NASA then stood up and walked over to the giant windows that were in back of her chair. There was rain falling slightly, the weather matching her mood. Overhead, the skies were dark, the lights inside the White House shining down on the wet lawn. It seemed to fit how she was feeling.

A sigh escaped the powerful woman's lips. Despite her status as the world's most powerful leader, she was still human, just like all the Coordinators that were residents and citizens of NASA. Yet, Blue Cosmos believed otherwise. The EA was mixed on the feelings though. That was what the whole war was dealing with.

"How can those fools not see that we all are human, despite our genes being different? I mean, we all have the same base DNA, so why can the Earth Alliance and Blue Cosmos not see that?" The President murmured to no one.

There was no answer. The rain fell softly, echoing off of the roof of the great structure that was her home for the moment. NASA's President sat down again, worn out from all of her duties and thoughts, including her own doubts about the war.

Several things came to her mind, yet the Natural shoved them from her thoughts. She could not worry about them now. She was too tired from doing her duties and worrying already. Anymore would wear her out even more.

A report was picked up and read over, the one given to her by the aide from before. A serious look crossed the President's face as she read it over. The ZAFT Fleets were having trouble with the ship.

That Earth Alliance warship was supposed to be easy to take down. So why were the best fleets of ZAFT having so much trouble with it? That did not make any sense.

The female leader set the report down and looked out at the rain again. What was going to happen now? She did not know, but she knew that she needed to lead the nation through it, whatever it was. That was her duty as the President of the NASA itself.

But several thoughts came to her as she stared out the great windows before her.

How much more fighting was needed to end the war? And why fight a completely pointless war anyway? Wasn't this about personal preference? How could they determine if modifying genes was right or wrong? Then the simple answer came to the President. '_We can't determine anything or anyone's fate.'_

That was the way this war had to end, and the only way was to act on their own if the need arose. But that need would soon come, and not in the way the NASA leaders were expecting.

* * *

_Archangel…_

Nisha stared as the technicians worked to get the pod open. The crew seemed to be needing to use crowbars a lot lately. The reason for that was unknown though. He, Kira, Captain Ramius, Mu, Ensign Badgiruel, and several of the Mistrals crew members watched as the pod's door finally began to bend to the weight.

"Are we going to make picking up strays a habit?" Mu asked jokingly. He received a bonk to the head, courtesy of Captain Ramius.

"This is no time for jokes…" she murmured in a stern voice.

"Well, it seems that our ship is the patron saint of strays…" Chris remarked. He received the same treatment from the Captain as well.

"It looks like it…" Mu chuckled.

The door finally gave way and out came a pink ball. Chris wound up catching it in surprise.

"Haro! Hello there! Haro! Haro!" the thing chirped. Flaps on the sides moved, startling the boy.

"What is this thing?!" Chris asked in shock. Nisha laughed at the thing as Chris stared at it in bewilderment.

"That is Mister Pink." A female voice remarked. It was a voice that he knew. One that _anyone_ from the PLANTs would know.

_'It can't be…_Her_…here?'_

Chris looked up, only to see a female Coordinator with flowing pink hair and soft blue eyes. It was Lacus Clyne, the famous singer and daughter of the Supreme Chairman of ZAFT. She drifted out of the pod and kept on going until Kira caught her and set her down on her feet again.

"Thank you…" she said politely to Kira before she saw the markings on the EA uniforms right away. "Oh my…This isn't a ZAFT ship, is it?"

Everyone just stared at her in surprise.

"You're...Lacus Clyne." Liz said in a state of disbelief.

Chris glanced at his sister. She was the biggest Lacus Clyne fan he had ever met. Her eyes were wide in surprise at the sight of her idol.

"Why yes I am."

"Miss Clyne." she said, passing her way to the young diva. "Miss Clyne, it's an honor to meet you. Can I please have your autograph?"

Chris sighed. "Liz...Miss Clyne has no doubt been through a lot. Don't harass her like a rabid fangirl. I'm sure she could use some rest."

"Rabid fangirl! Haro! Rabid fangirl!" the strange ball robot shouted.

Everyone stared at her before Nisha spoke up. "No, it is not." He replied.

"Oh, well then, I suppose that I am an enemy prisoner?" Lacus asked.

Nisha sighed. "No. You're not. But, I guess you could kind of consider it like that…" he said, rubbing his head uncertainly.

Then, Mu spoke up. "Well, we should try to take advantage of this then. If she is the Chairman's daughter, then we could use her as a bargaining tool. I mean, ZAFT would not attack their leader's daughter, now would they?" the man asked as he looked at Lacus with a strange look.

Lacus gulped before Kira spoke up. "She did not ask to be made a tool! She cannot and _will not_ be used like that!" he screamed. Everyone stared at the boy before he turned and left in a fit of rage.

"Haro! Haro!" the ball shouted. Chris looked down in shock, amazed that he had even forgotten about it. '_This thing had better not start bothering me, or the one who made it will be sorry. Same with the guy that made Birdie.'_

Birdie, at that point, landed on Chris's head as he growled. "Why is it that all of these things are attracted to me?" he muttered as he handed the ball to Nisha who handed the ball back to Lacus while Chris chased Birdie off of his head.

Lacus looked at Nisha before she spoke. "Thank you." She said as she then glanced back at Mu uneasily. Captain Ramius then addressed Lacus.

"I am sorry you had to hear all of that. Let us get you to a room here on our ship." The older woman said. Lacus followed her, but not before she looked back at Mu, still uneasy about him.

* * *

_Archangel Control Room_

_An hour later…_

"Captain, all of the supplies we could gather has been brought aboard and secured." Taikyu announced as he entered the bridge area. "We can leave at any time."

"Newmann, take us out of the Debris Belt and set us on a course for Lunar HQ." Ramius ordered.

"Yes, ma'am." The man replied as he did so. The ship eased out into open space with no trouble, the debris drifting around them easily.

"So, what are we going to be doing with our new guest?" Mu inquired. Everyone looked at him; truth be told, all of them were wondering the same thing.

"We cannot make any other stops before we reach the Lunar HQ." Badgiruel replied. "It is not like she can harm us anyway. I mean, she _is_ a civilian after all, even if she _is_ a Coordinator…"

"Of course not, they'd welcome her with open arms…" Mu said sarcastically.

"I do not like it anymore than you do, Lt. La Flaga, but we have no other choice. Besides, you did not exactly make her feel welcome anyway…" Murrue trailed off, letting the man know that he was in trouble.

"Actually, there may be a way to get around all of that." Taikyu replied. "Lacus, as Badgiruel said, _is_ a Coordinator. And how many Coordinator-supporting nations are there? 2. And which of those two nations is located close to the ruins of Junius Seven? So, I was thinking that maybe, we could contact the NASA colony and get them to deliver her to the PLANTs. We give her to the NASA colony in exchange for our freedom and safety."

"Hmm…Could that plan actually work?" Johanna asked.

"If everyone here agrees to it, then yes." Taikyu replied.

"Ma'am!" Romero exclaimed, interrupting the chatter. "We're receiving a transmission!"

"What?! Who is it from?!" Murrue asked in shock.

"Verifying right now!" the man replied. "It's from the 8th Fleet!"

"It's from Admiral Halberton!" Murrue exclaimed as she jumped up out of her seat. "I want you to patch it through!"

Static filled the bridge, words barley coming out at first, but getting stronger as the ships neared one another. _"_Arch_…_gel_…Come…_Archangel_…This…is…_gomery_…"_ the voice got louder and clearer as the distances closed. _"Come in _Archangel_…This is the _Montgomery._ We have been dispatched to rendezvous with you and escort you to the rest of the 8th Fleet."_

Loud cheers filled the bridge. Their luck was finally beginning to turn around…

* * *

_The Bridge of the _Odin

_Elsewhere_

"Sir. We've detected three Earth Forces warships."

"Out this far? That's unusual." Lucius said.

"They could be an escort for the legged ship." Captain Lee said.

"Indeed. That is likely what they're out here." Diana said. "Have they detected us yet?"

"Unknown sir. As you know, we're on the edge of the Debris Belt. May or may not be able to detect us."

"Hmm...If they have detected us, they'll warn the legged ship. And depending on the Captain of that vessel, they'll either stay away or come to their assistance." Diana said, contemplating her next move.

"Sir. The _Vesalius _is hailing us."

Diana let out a sigh of annoyance. She hated having to take orders from that man. But orders were orders. Until the legged ship was captured or destroyed, she was stuck.

_"Commander Kessel, it seems we've found some unexpected guests. It is safe to assume that they're here for the legged ship, which means that we should remove them from the field immediately._" Creuset said.

"So we're switching from searching for Miss Clyne, back to our original mission." Diana said. "You're planning on using that small fleet as bait to draw in the legged ship."

"_Yes. Either the legged ship will come to their allies' aid, in which case, we'll be able to destroy it right here and now. Or they'll flee, in which case, they'll be alone and likely low on supplies. So why don't you deploy that Speartip maneuver that your fleet is so famous for." _Creuset said.

Diana nodded. "Very well. I'll deploy the Speartip Team. Once they've done their damage and pulled back, I'll be sending the rest of the 11th Fleet to engage them. If the legged ship comes to their aid, we'll destroy those three warships with cannons of the _Odin_, the _Valkyrie_ and the _Einherjar_ and move against the legged ship. If not, then the mobile suits will shoot them down. I assume that you'll be deploying the rest of the mobile suits as well."

_"Of course."_ Creuset said before closing the connection.

"Damn masked freak." Ajay cursed. "Who does he think he is, bossing us around like that?"

"Never the less, that masked freak has been put in charge. Until then we can rid ourselves of him, we have to carry out his orders." Diana said. "We're deploying the Speartip. Bring the ship up to full combat alert. Inform the _Valkyrie_ and the _Einherjar_. Get Hilda up here on the double."

There was a chorus of "Yes, sir." among the bridge officers before carrying out their orders. A few minutes later, Hilda Harkin, clad in her black pilot suit, stepped onto the bridge. "Sir." the one-eyed woman said, saluting. "What's our mission? Is it the legged ship?"

"A small Earth Forces battlegroup. That will be your target." Diana said. "It's likely heading to meet up with the legged ship."

"That sucks. I was hoping for a challenge."

"I know. Cripple and paint those warships. Then fall back and we will do the rest." Hilda saluted again. "Yes sir."

* * *

_Elsewhere_

_Bridge of the Constitution_

Commander White looked on as the 11th Fleet began to deploy its forces. "So, they're trying to destroy the legged ship again, eh? We might as well help them out."

He then looked to his crew. "Tao, you will head out in the Diver to provide cover for the Speartip team." The young woman nodded.

"Araiya, you will place beacons on the ships to that the Speartip team can paint the warships." The purple-haired woman nodded.

"Josh, you and Heidi will keep the Le Creuset team busy if they try and kill anyone who is not armed or a threat." The two red coats nodded.

In a flash of movement, the four left the bridge to get ready for battle.

* * *

The mobile suit catapults of the _Odin_, the _Valkyrie_ and the _Einherjar_ deployed as the hanger doors opened, revealing three black and purple GINNs.

"Alright guys, our orders are to cripple and paint the Earth Forces warships. If we're lucky, the legged ship will come to help them." Hilda said.

_"That should be too hard."_ Herbert Von Reinhardt lazily said.

_"Yeah! I wanna see what the big fuss everyone's been making over this new warship and its mobile suits."_ Mars Simeon said, eager for combat.

"Let's do it guys!" Hilda shouted as her GINN launched from the _Odin_.

_"Right!"_ Mars shouted.

_"Yeah. Yeah."_ Herbert said.

Herbert and Mars followed, launching from the _Valkyrie_ and the _Einherjar_. All three GINNs took off at blazing speeds for the Earth Forces battleships and hopefully, the legged ship would show up.

* * *

_Constitution hanger…_

Tao drifted towards the Diver, helmet in hand. But her mind was not on the upcoming battle like it always was. Instead, she was trying to figure out why her father hated Rau Le Creuset.

Her mind was filled with possible reasons, yet each one seemed to hide a more sinister motive it seemed. Then Tao felt shivers race down her spine. Did her father know something about the man that she did not? It seemed possible…

She shook her head and stopped herself near the cockpit of her machine. The battle was what she needed to focus on. Tao put on her helmet and entered her machine's cockpit.

The Coordinator pilot knew that she was not due out on the battlefield for at least 10 minutes, so she had time to think until then. Her thoughts drifted to her father. Was he hiding something from her, and if so, what was it? All that Tao knew was that it concerned her father's hatred for Rau Le Creuset…

* * *

_Archangel…_

Chris ate his lunch quietly as all of the rescued citizens from Heliopolis talked with one another. Everyone was eager to meet up with the Earth Forces Fleet as soon as possible. They all felt that soon, they would be safe from ZAFT. Chris knew better however. No one was truly safe until they reached ORB _or_ NASA.

Of course, it also meant that it was time to choose between a future of fighting and a future of no fighting. Chris was positive that Kira was going to leave. He was not cut out to be a soldier. Nisha was staying, but only to protect his father. He, on the other hand, was unsure. He knew that he could, like Kira, avoid the rest of the war altogether. But what would that lead to? ORB and the EA probably being defeated and something even worse coming to pass. Chris recalled that his grandfather had once told him that Naturals fight for many reasons, but three were the most prominent. Fighting for honor, for a cause that they believed in, and for those that they loved.

"What?! My father is coming here?!" He looked up at Flay's exclamation.

Chris could see Flay talking with Sai at the end of the table. For some reason, his heart seemed to flutter when around the Natural female. Rage boiled in his veins at the sight of her and Sai talking, yet the Coordinator shook his head. The feeling faded, yet it still was there, dormant and sleeping.

"Yes, he is coming with the advance fleet to meet us." Sai replied.

_'Well, that is some good news. Our luck had been only bad luck so far. Maybe that will change this time…'_

"Really?" Flay asked.

"Yeah, but I bet he has no idea that you are on board. We _did_ just send out our crew and passenger lists, after all." Sai remarked, a smirk in his tone of voice.

Chris was confused as to why he had broken down when he had talked to Flay earlier that day. He had told her things that he had never even mentioned to his friends, and yet, he only knew her for a short amount of time. Even more so, Chris wanted to know why he was thinking of Flay more and more.

_'You are in love with her.'_ A voice from inside his mind said.

Chris shook his head. '_No, I _can't_ be in love with Flay. She is arranged to marry Sai!'_

_'What does that have to do with your feelings for her?'_

Chris buried the thoughts. Flay was Sai's girlfriend. That was meaning 'only look, don't touch'. He was not going to come between them anyway. Maybe staying on board would help him stay away from her.

_'It really does not matter, anyway. Soon, we will be meeting up with the advance fleet and heading back to the Moon. Then, after that, we will all be sent back to ORB and we will never see each other again.'_

Little did he know, he was wrong…

* * *

I hope you all liked the chapter. And the contest mentioned in the previous chapter is still open for anyone to participate in. Please feel free to guess the nation that the Earth Forces fear, and if you get it, you can send in one OC for me to use, but the OC has to be Earth Forces and an Extended to boot. Other than that, go nuts! Any flames _**will**_ be deleted or reported, depending on if the review is signed or not. Keep reading and reviewing!


	9. Phase 8: Fading Light

Phase Eight: Fading Light

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are.**

**Anyway, read and review! ^^**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

_Vesalius…_

Athrun sat in the cockpit of the Aegis, preparing it for combat. Around him, the GINNs were equipping heavy weapons. Save for the blood red one standing across from the Aegis, Zane Scirocco's GINN.

There was something about Zane that unsettled him. Athrun had no idea what it was. But there was definitely something about him that made him uncomfortable.

Athrun opened up the comm to Zane's GINN. "Zane, why aren't you equipping your GINN with heavy weapons, like the others?"

_"I don't need such weapons."_ Zane said. _"This rifle and sword are more than enough for these weaklings."_

"Weaklings?"

_"Yes. Those pathetic Naturals are all weak. Even if they could come up with a mobile suit for Naturals, none could ever hope to match the skill of a Coordinator."_ Zane said nonchalantly. _"They're like lambs to the slaughter."_

* * *

_Constitution hanger…_

Tao White had a look of frustration on her face as she got ready to launch. She had overheard her father talking about Le Creuset, and had learned that he was observing the fleet. She hated the man as much as he did, yet she was better at hiding her dislike of Le Creuset.

"Alright, here I go! Tao White, Diver, launching!" she cried as the catapult drove the Diver to the opening and out into space. All of the Mobile Suits of her ship followed swiftly.

* * *

_Outer Space…_

"Alright guys, you know the drill." Hilda said to her comrades as they approached the EA warships. "Cripple and paint."

_"Man. This won't be any fun. They don't stand a chance against us."_ Mars said.

_"But it'd be disrespectful to them to hold back."_ Herbert replied.

_"Ha ha ha ha...You got that right."_

"Cut the chatter you two. We got work to do." Hilda said, silencing her comrades.

The trio descended on the Earth Forces. No doubt, the mobile armor pilots of this fleet thought that they could take three GINNs. But that would change when they saw their black and purple colors. Then the fear would come. Fear was the greatest weapon of the 11th Fleet. The Black Hawk had gathered them all, the mavericks and undesirables of ZAFT's armed forces. And he molded them into an elite fighting force. The best and most feared fighting force in ZAFT.

Next to them, one of the stolen G-Weapons was on guard. It was the Diver, piloted by Tao White of the 7th Fleet.

They didn't bother slowing down. Speed was their second greatest weapon. Beside them, the Diver also kept pace, but just barely.

"For the Black Hawk!" Hilda shouted, firing on the incoming mobile armors.

_"For the Black Hawk!"_ Mars and Herbert shouted as they too opened fire.

* * *

_Archangel…_

"Three silhouettes detected at long range. It is the _Montgomery_, the _Bernard_, and the _Law_." Romero said as he confirmed the three ships.

"It appears that we have made it…" Murrue said, sighing with relief.

_"Ma'am! The radar's being jammed!"_

"What?" Murrue was shocked. A bad feeling began to form in her gut.

_"We're detecting heat signatures from the advance fleet. A battle has broken out!"_ Jackie called from the CIC.

"Ma'am. A message from the _Montgomery_ just came through. 'Cancel rendezvous. Continue on to 8th Fleet alone.'" Romero had a slight tremor in his voice as he read off the message.

"How many enemies are there right now?" Murrue asked.

"Eight _Nazca_-class warship readings are near the advance fleet. Three GINNS are engaging the fleet." He replied.

"Your orders, Captain?" Badgiruel asked.

"Our luck has run out again. There is no guarantee that we will escape alive, considering how we are up against the 11th Fleet, the 7th Fleet and the Creuset team we are up against too." Murrue muttered as she sighed. "All hands, Level One battle stations! We are going to aid the advance fleet!"

* * *

_"All hands, report to level one battle stations! I repeat…"_

"Figures as much…" Chris muttered to himself. "We finally get some time to relax, and the enemy shows up again just to cut it short…"

He left his room as Kira left his, which was right across the hall from him. Nisha met up with them as they headed off. The three Coordinators sprinted towards the hanger. Deep inside, Nisha was shaking though. He was going to be encountering his cousin out there, and he was not sure if he could handle it.

"I though we would be free from those guys. It appears that our pursuers are much more stubborn than we thought." Chris said to Kira as the three ran down the hall.

"I just wish that they would leave us alone…" Kira muttered.

Suddenly, to their surprise, the door to Miss Clyne's room opened and she poked her head out. "My. What is all the noise out here about?" Lacus asked.

"Don't tell me that my sister has been talking to you and forgot to lock the door." Chris said in an annoyed tone.

"Actually, both she and Mr. Yamato have been visiting me, as has Mr. Taikyu." Lacus replied.

_'Kira has been talking to Lacus? That's odd. I wonder why.'_

"The ship is going into battle and we have to report to our battle stations." Kira said. "You should probably stay in your room."

"Are you going to be fighting, Mr. Yamato, Mr. Dante, Mr. Itsuno?" Lacus asked.

"Yes." Chris growled. "Now I suggest you listen to Kira and get back into your room NOW!"

"I don't wanna! I don't wanna!" the little annoying Haro squawked as it bounced around in the hall.

"Too bad!" Chris snapped as he grabbed the little robot. "You're going back in!"

He tossed the little pink ball into the room, but not too hard. He did not want to damage it, even if he did hate it. Lacus followed it in, shutting the door behind her.

The three boys continued their run to the hanger until they bumped into Flay.

"Kira! Chris! Nisha!" she cried. The three boys turned to face her. "Are we going into battle? Is the ship my dad on going to be okay?!"

"Don't worry, Flay. We will do everything to make sure that the ship your dad is on is protected." Kira said. "I promise."

Chris was not so optimistic. "We will do our best, Flay. There are no guarantees that your dad will be alright, but we will try our hardest."

Nisha nodded. "We'll all do what we can. We'll try to protect him. That much we can promise."

Flay just looked on as the boys continued to the hanger. She hoped that they would protect her dad, even _if_ they were Coordinators…

* * *

_Outer Space…_

Hilda opened fire on the _Law_'s engines, crippling the vessel. A trio of mobile armors opened fire on her. But her GINN was too fast. She dodged their shots and started to circle the _Law_. Her GINN's head was always facing the _Law_, its red monoeye glowing brighter than normal, painting the warship for the warships of the 11th Fleet.

A green light blinked on her console, signaling that the _Odin_ and the other warships had received the coordinates of the _Law_.

The beacon planted had done its job of leading her and her team to the ship.

_"This one's painted."_ Herbert said. _"All we got left is the flagship."_

"Good. Let's finish this up guys." Hilda said.

The _Archangel_ entered the battlefield, firing its Valiants as the Moebius Zero, the Strike, the Z.A.M. Gundam and the Raven launched from the ship.

Unfortunately, that was what the three Commanders of the ZAFT fleet were waiting for.

* * *

_"Sir. The legged ship has entered the battle."_

Diana Kessel smiled. She had hoped that they would fall for the trap. "Recall the Speartip Team. Deploy all mobile suits. Have the _Odin_, the _Valkyrie _and the _Einherjar_ fire their main batteries on the painted warships." she said from the cockpit of her CGUE. "And everyone, leave the Moebius Zero to me."

_"But sir, we haven't received the coordinates of _Nelson_-class."_

"Then we will bring you the coordinates or destroy it ourselves."

_"Yes sir."_

"Diana Kessel. Panther Mk II launching." She said as the catapult launched her CGUE.

All of the remaining mobile suits of the 11th Fleet followed.

* * *

Vesalius_ bridge…_

Rau smirked as the legged ship and her Mobile Suits arrived at the battle site. The targets were now in sight. "Well, the stars of our little show have arrived. Let's give them a…_warm_ welcome. Deploy all Mobile Suits!"

The Aegis launched first, followed by Zane's GINN and the remaining GINNs. It was time to end this.

* * *

Kira fired on one of the fleeing purple and black GINNs, but the shots missed as the pilot flew away. The machine opened fire with an RPG, yet Kira was able to dodge using the Strike. The shots from the Strike's rifle missed, and the GINN left the battlefield.

Many of the surviving Moebius pilots cheered. _"You chased them off!"_ one pilot exclaimed.

_"No, we didn't. Those guys were just the Speartip team. The actual attack is coming…"_ Mu replied grimly.

_"Incoming Mobile Suits!"_ Ensign Badgiruel cried over the com-line. _"The Aegis, the Wing, a single CGUE, and the rest are 15 GINNs! That is a total of 18 suits!"_

Kira stared at the number said. How could they beat that many machines?!

_"18 machines!? We'll all be killed before we can even damage one of the ships! How can we be expected to beat that many Mobile Suits?!"_ Chris cried.

Nisha swore over the radio, letting out several swears before he spoke. _"Taking on that many machines is suicide!"_ he cried. "_We can't win with our numbers!_"

Mu sighed at the sight of the ZAFT machines. _"We have no choice. If we are to survive, then we have to fight. Get ready, they're coming!"_

But before anyone could move, eight beams destroyed the _Law_ and the _Bernard_. Both ships exploded in a fiery blast.

Kira stared as he gripped the controls of the Strike tightly. He _had_ to protect the _Montgomery_! He _had to_!

* * *

_Battle site…_

"So Athrun, which one do you want? The Strike or the Raven?" Zane asked as the two reached the battlefield.

Zane already knew what Athrun was going to say. He was going to go after his traitor friend piloting the Strike. No doubt Athrun would try to disarm and disable the Strike so he could take his friend. It was pathetic. The traitor had clearly made his choice. Only thing that should be done is destroy the Strike and the traitor pilot.

_"I'll go after the Strike."_ Athrun replied.

_'Pathetic fool. You're just as predictable as your father.'_

Zane turned his attention to the remaining mobile suit, the Raven. There was an odd feeling in the back of his mind. But he brushed it aside. Now wasn't the time for such things.

* * *

_Constitution hanger…_

Aki' sat in the Wing as he finished up several minor adjustments. _'Nisha is out there. I have to show him how wrong it is to fight for the Earth Alliance!'_ he reminded himself as the Wing was loaded into the catapult.

"Akira Nishikama, Wing, launching!"

The Wing emerged into the depths of space, just as the Z.A.M. Gundam caught sight of his machine. Akira snarled in anger.

It was payback time…

Firing on the other machine, Aki' let loose several Hellfire mini-missiles. To counter, the Z.A.M. Gundam fired off several chest missiles, the two sets of warheads exploding in a bright flash of heat and energy.

Akira snarled as he felt the rage of his cousin's ignorance coming back to him. _'How can he be so damn stubborn?!'_ In a single move, the Wing grabbed a beam saber from its left side and ignited the blade at the same time. Nisha, in return, did the same thing.

Both machines met in a clash of heat and energy, the gold and pink blades meeting in the middle.

* * *

_"Time for our rematch, Mu La Flaga."_ a woman's voice said, as the CGUE firing on his Moebius Zero.

Mu barely managed to make a sharp right turn, dodging the incoming bullets. He recognized the CGUE's colors. It was same one as that last GINN he shot down at Endymion. Apparently, this woman was the pilot and she had survived and now wanted a rematch.

_'Figures. This must be payback for all the skirts I chased when I was a kid.'_

Mu dove as she opened fire on him. The CGUE closely followed, firing off well aimed burst as it chased him. This was going to one difficult battle.

The Raven, in its mobile armor mode, dove as the blood red GINN opened fire on him. A few rounds struck the Raven, but had little impact on its phase-shift armor. This pilot was good, very good. But this mobile suit had some tricks up its sleeve.

* * *

The Raven spun as it transformed back into its mobile suit mode and fired its railguns. Zane barely dodged the twin high-velocity rounds.

"Tricky bastard." Zane said. "Take this!"

Zane fired on the Raven while dodging more of the Raven's shots. To his annoyance, his rounds had little effect on its armor. Zane discarded the useless rifle and drew his sword. He moved in close to the Raven, preventing it from firing its railguns. He swung his sword at the mobile suit. Chris brought the Raven's shield up, blocking the strike. Chris drew a beam saber and attacked. The GINN sidestepped the attack.

"Not bad. But not good enough!" Zane said as he drove the GINN's left fist into the Raven's head.

"Damn. This guy's good. Better than I am." Chris said.

The Raven swung its beam saber at the GINN. The GINN turned, bring its shield in front of the saber's path, blocking the attack.

* * *

Nisha pulled back from the beam saber duel, just as Aki' tried to fire the missiles once more. Several of the small warheads impacted the Z.A.M. Gundam's shield, burning the metal slightly.

He snarled as he tried the shoulder cannons, but the Wing, using its superior speed, dodged the attack. The speeding mobile suit then fired on Nisha with the beam rifle. The beams impacted the Z.A.M. Gundam, making Nisha grunt as he tried to keep his machine stable.

_"Now do you see what you are doing?! You are just helping the ones who killed my sister!"_ Aki' cried over the radio. Nisha looked up, his cousin unable to see the pain in his eyes.

"Please…just stop this…" he pleaded.

In response, the Wing just slammed into the Z.A.M. Gundam's shield, beam saber ignited once more.

_"NO! Not until the ones responsible have paid!"_ Aki' roared.

* * *

_Constitution bridge…_

Commander White felt fury flood his veins at the destruction he was forced to cause. It went against all of his team's ideals if they were _forced_ to destroy battleships. He wanted to wring Le Creuset's neck for that, yet he knew that he could not, for orders were orders.

"Commander, the 11th Fleet has the coordinates of the _Nelson_ class…" Aisha said solemnly.

"So they are going to fire…" Commander White trailed off, hesitating to give the command. Maybe if he turned around and fired on Le Creuset, this whole war would be closer to ending, and he would be able to relax once more…

He shook his head. _'No. That would make us an enemy of ZAFT and make it seem like we are not supportive of Coordinator rights. We have to follow orders.'_ He reminded himself.

"Let them fire…" Commander White cried. He was going to regret this…

* * *

_Outer Space…_

"Captain. We've gotten coordinates for the _Nelson_-class."

"Alert our forces." Captain Lee said. "Once they've acknowledged, open fire."

A few minutes later, the main cannons of the _Odin_ fired. Twin beams streaked through space. No one could stop the beams from hitting their target, the _Montgomery_. The beams pierced the battleship's hull near the engines. The _Montgomery _exploded in a massive fireball.

"No…" Chris whispered.

Things were now officially going from bad to worse. No, scratch that. Beyond worse. The _Archangel_ was now outnumbered _and_ outgunned. The GINNs of the 'Maverick Fleet' moved in, ready for the kill. With the Z.A.M. Gundam, the Raven, the Strike, and the Moebius Zero busy with their own battles, the ship was defenseless. Then, the most unexpected thing happened…

_"Attention ZAFT forces."_ Badgiruel's voice came on over the com-line, making the fighting stop for the moment. _"This is the Earth Alliance warship, the _Archangel_. We have the daughter of Supreme Chairman Siegel Clyne, Lacus Clyne, onboard. If any of you attempt to shoot us down, you will be declaring that your nation does not care about their leader's kin. You will forfeit Lacus's rights as a prisoner humanely treated. Then we will be forced to take more drastic actions. Repeat, we will be forced to use Lacus as nothing more than a human shield. We wish to avoid this, so head this warning now."_

"Damn…that won't go over well…" Chris muttered.

_"Who gives a damn about the Pink Princess anyway?! Our _mission_ is more important than her anyway!"_ Zane said.

* * *

_Constitution…_

"This is unexpected. Using Lacus Clyne as a means of escape. Clever, if not desperate." Commander White mused. "All forces, we are withdrawing at once."

_"Yes, sir!"_ the 7th Fleet cried.

_"Who gives a damn about the Pink Princess?"_ Zane said.

_"This is unexpected."_ Diana said. _"All forces, withdraw immediately!"_

_"WHAT?"_ Zane shouted.

Rau stared out at the battlefield. This changed everything. "I agree." Rau said. "We must withdraw for the time being."

The ZAFT Forces immediately started leaving the battlefield.

_"Gah!"_ Zane shouted, punching his main screen, before he too withdrew from the battlefield.

Aki glanced back one last time at his cousin before retreating as well. The Wing flew off, followed by the Diver.

* * *

_Archangel Hanger…_

The Raven's cockpit hatch opened. Chris pulled off his helmet and sighed. Things were really screwed up. He hated what Badgiruel did. But at the same time, it saved them from certain death. The question was what now?

"Chirs!" Liz shouted, floating up to him.

"What?"

"Something happened." Liz said. "Flay dragged Lacus onto the bridge and demanded that we tell the ZAFT Forces to stop attacking or she'd kill Lacus."

Chris sighed. He was gonna have to talk to her about that.

But what happened now? That was the main question that he did not know the answer to…

* * *

_Vesalius hanger…_

Zane was angry, not at the order of the retreat, but the Raven and the legged ship. They were a wild card while the Raven was a much better machine than his.

"Sir, would you like us to equip a heavy-weapons unit to your GINN?" a mechanic asked.

"No, I need something else." Zane grunted.

"What about a new rifle?"

"NO!" Zane snapped at the man. The mechanic cowered in fear at Zane's outburst. He did not like it when people beneath him questioned his orders.

"W-w-what do y-y-you n-need t-t-then?" the man stammered out. A punch to his head was his response.

"I need a weapon that is perfect!" Zane snarled out loud. The poor man that he was beating up cried out, getting the attention of the 7th Fleet pilot Akira who was visiting and headed past the hanger anyway

The other boy poked his head in and saw Zane hitting the mechanic, who was on the ground curled in a ball to protect his head.

"HEY!" Akira snarled. "What are you doing to him?!"

Zane glanced over at Akira and sneered. "This pathetic mortal was not listening to me and getting me the perfect weapon when I needed it."

"And _that_ is your reason for hitting him? How pathetic can _you_ be?!" Akira snarled.

A punch to the face was not what Akira had been expecting. The ZAFT red went flying backwards and landed on his back, holding the side of his face. "What was that?!" Aki' asked as he sat up.

"Nothing that you would understand…" Zane said, his voice a mere growl before he looked away. Aki' stood up and ran at the other boy, tackling him to the ground from behind. Zane felt cold metal smack into his face as he fell onto his stomach. He looked back, his face as cold as ice.

The grey-eyed boy lashed out and kicked Akira in the side, but the boy rolled using the momentum and came up onto one knee. Zane stood up and ran at him, but Akira, being a black belt in martial arts, punched the other boy in the chest, knocking the wind out of his lungs.

As the boys fought, the mechanic cowered behind a machine's foot. Zane glared at the man before Akira caught him in a right hook on the jaw. Then, in a martial arts move, the black-haired Coordinator flipped Zane over his head and onto his back on the floor. Zane gasped as Akira put his booted foot on the other boy's chest. "Hopefully that will teach you to never look down on others…" Aki' snarled.

Then, the other boy left as Zane stood up. "Check our inventory as well as that of the 'Maverick Fleet' and the 11th Fleet. I want to find the perfect weapon. One that does not sacrifice power for weight and weight for power." He said, addressing the mechanic.

"Y-y-yes, sir!" the mechanic replied.

"Next time, I _will_ destroy that machine…"

* * *

_Archangel_…

"LIAR!" Flay shouted as Chris entered her quarters.

Kira, Nisha, Sai, Liz, and Mir were there as well. Flay was shouting at Kira for what he had done out there.

As soon as she heard the door though, Flay was instantly on Chris. "AND YOU! You're a liar too!" Flay shouted at Chris. "You all promised to protect my father! But you didn't _even_ try! It's because you're all _Coordinators!_"

By now, Chris had had enough.

"That is _ENOUGH!_" Chris shouted. "We fought as hard as we could! But even our best actions weren't enough! Claiming that we _didn't_ even try is an insult in itself! More people than just your father were lost today! Don't believe that you are the only one who has lost someone! This is _war!_ People _die_ in war! Quit being so _selfish_ and _grow up!_ If you _really_ want to take out your anger on someone, take it out on me, _not_ Kira or Nisha!"

Flay slapped him on the cheek. "C'mon! I thought that you were _angry!_"

She just hit Chris harder with another slap. "Come on! Hit me with more than just a slap! If you were _truly_ angry, you would do more than just slap!"

"Stop this!" Kira shouted. "This is pointless!"

"Leave me alone!" Chris shouted at the other boy. "I know what I am doing!"

As he faced Flay, however, he was not expecting to be hit with a punch to the jaw. "I thought you would do better than that!"

"Please, Chris, stop!" Kira begged. "You don't have to do this!" Nisha added. Chris glared at the other Coordinators.

"I said stay out of-"

_WHAM!_

Chris stood there for w few moments. "Ow…" was all he said before the boy collapsed to the floor.

Flay stood there, holding a now-bent food tray, tears still running down her face and breathing heavily.

* * *

_Later…_

Chris groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. "What hit me?"

"Flay." Liz said.

"Damn." Chris said, rubbing his head. "I wouldn't have antagonized her if I knew she hit that hard."

"She hit you with a food tray."

"Oh. That explains things. I thought I was getting weak there for a moment."

"So, besides the tray to your head, did that accomplish?"

"We'll have to see. Maybe nothing. Maybe something." Chris said. "So how long was I out?"

"About forty-five minutes." Liz replied. "You're lucky your skull's as thick as it is."

Chris shrugged. "Anything changed?"

"Nah. We're still pretty much in the same situation." his sister replied. "Kira's getting ready to take Miss Clyne to the ZAFT Fleet."

"Really? Aren't we using her as a hostage?"

"Yeah...Well...The Captain doesn't know."

"Should have known." Chris said, getting up off the bunk. "Well, I can't let him go something so reckless by himself."

It didn't take him long to find Kira. He, along with Sai, Nisha, and Miri, had just reached Lacus's quarters.

"Taking Lacus back to the ZAFT Forces?" he asked.

"Yes." Kira replied. "Are going to try to stop us?"

"Yes and no."

"What?"

"I'll take Miss Clyne to the ZAFT Fleet." Chris explained. "You and the Strike are far more valuable to the Archangel. The same goes for Nisha and the Z.A.M. Gundam."

"That's not true." Kira said.

"It is. The Strike is far more versatile than the Raven is. And you're a far better pilot than I am. Plus, the Z.A.M. Gundam has more firepower than the Raven. If things go bad, it's better that you stay with the Archangel, to protect it."

"Alright."

* * *

Chris zipped up the flight suit and grabbed his helmet. Lacus was across the hall, putting on her own spacesuit. So far, things were running smoothly. Mir and Liz were on look-out duty while Sai, Kira, and Nisha were making sure that the hanger was clear.

He stepped out into the hallway, cautious. "Any sign of people coming?"

Mir looked back at him. "No one so far…" she replied. Liz nodded in confirmation.

"We're clear right now." Nisha added from the hanger.

"Good."

The door to the room across the hall opened up and Lacus stepped out.

"Ready?" Chris asked.

"Yes, Mr. Dante." Lacus replied.

"Good. Let's get going then."

"Haro! Leaving! Haro!" Haro chirped.

Chris sighed. At least he was not going to miss that thing. "Can you keep that thing quiet?"

When the two of them reached the hanger, Kira and Sai were already waiting.

"We'll open up the hanger doors while you two get to the Raven." Kira explained.

"Right. Hurry up, Lacus!" Chris called.

The two of them reached the cockpit of the Raven and climbed in quickly. Once inside, Chris powered up the machine and headed for the doors. The hanger crew was unsure of what was going on and began to freak out when they realized that one of the machines was moving.

The inner door opened up and the Raven stepped onto the launch catapult.

Chris looked at Lacus. "This is about to get rough here, so hang on tight!"

The catapult activated, propelling the machine out into space, where the Raven's thrusters activated and the machine left for the ZAFT fleet…

* * *

_Vesalius bridge…_

"The problem we have is that with Miss Clyne on board, we cannot take any action!" Rau hissed out. "But at the same time, we cannot allow that ship to meet up with the rest of the Earth Alliance Fleet.

_"That may not be necessary. We could attack them in an ambush, which you know is our ship's specialty. Then we could pull off a commando raid and rescue Miss Clyne. We may even be able to capture the ship in one move…"_ Commander White mused from the ship's main screen.

Rau considered the other commander's plan, but realized one thing. If the 7th _was_ to succeed, it would make _him_ look bad. That would make them the heroes of ZAFT and make him the laughing stock. _However_, if the famed 'Maverick Fleet' failed, then it would work out for him and Patrick Zala, since the squadron would be wiped out. But the chances of _that_ were slim. Unless their ships were somehow damaged…then it would work out in their favor.

Suddenly, the siren alarms went off. "Sir! Incoming Mobile Suit!"

"What?! Identify it!" Captain Ades ordered.

"It's the X305!"

"It's hailing us!"

"Let us hear it out…" Rau ordered.

_"ZAFT vessels, this is the pilot of the Raven. Do not fire. I have on board, Miss Lacus Clyne."_ The 'Natural' pilot said. _"I am only here to send her back. Send out only the Aegis and its pilot and I will hand her over to you unharmed."_

"Well, this is interesting. Very well, then." Rau replied. "We will send out the Aegis."

They cut the com-line. "You heard that boy, Athrun. Deploy in the Aegis and recover Miss Clyne." Rau ordered.

"Commander! Allow _me_ to deploy in the Aegis!" Zane cut in, catching Athrun by surprise.

Rau had not been expecting this. Zane was not interested in saving Miss Clyne. He only wanted to eliminate the Raven. If the Raven was destroyed, then Miss Clyne would also be killed, and he wanted to avoid any punishment the Council would instill on him, Wu, _and_ Patrick Zala.

"No. He asked for Athrun, and that is who he will receive." Rau snarled back.

* * *

Zane watched the Aegis take off from the hanger, rage evident in his face. He not only hated the commander, but he also hated the 7th for not allowing him to go out. That famed reputation of theirs was the only thing that could stop him, and he hated the fact that the ships were so hard to beat.

"What is the status on the new railgun?" he asked a mechanic.

"Well, sir, we have mounted the new unit on the GINN and calibrated the GINN's systems to handle the recoil and weight of the railgun. We also have yet to recalibrate the aiming systems." The mechanic replied.

"Leave that last part alone. I'll do it when I am in the field. I am launching." Zane snarled at the man.

"S-s-sir?"

"You heard me. I am heading out." Zane snarled again. He kicked off of the hanger's floor and floated into the cockpit of his GINN.

He was going to end this here and now, once and for all!

* * *

The Raven approached the Aegis. When the two Mobile Suits were face to face, their cockpits both opened. Behind the Aegis were the ships of the 7th and 11th Fleets.

"Why did you ask for me only?" Athrun asked.

"I figured that if anyone would allow me to escape, it would be you. You had the chance to blow both me and Kira away at the battle of Artemis Base, yet you refused to." Chris replied.

Then he looked at Lacus. "Well, this is where we part ways, Miss Clyne." He said, giving Lacus a gentle shove out of the Raven's cockpit.

"Good-bye…" Lacus replied, waving gently. She floated to Athrun and the Aegis, ready to return. Athrun grabbed her and pulled Lacus into the Aegis's cockpit gently. Chris was about to close the cockpit on his machine when Athrun called back.

"Wait!"

Chris looked back. "What?"

"You're a Coordinator, right?"

"Yes."

"Then come back with us. You, the other pilot, and Kira do not belong with the Earth Forces!"

"No."

"But-"

"The _Archangel_ is behind me. I will _not_ abandon her. My friends and family are on that ship."

"CHRIS!"

A high-velocity round tore past the Raven's head, missing the mobile suit by only a few feet.

It was the blood red GINN, its rifle replaced with railgun. The weapon was mounted on its right shoulder. But that wasn't what truly caught Chris off guard. It was the voice that shouted at him.

-_Flashback_-

_Chris walked up to the battered boy lying on the ground. "You okay?" he asked, kneeling down._

"_Yeah..." the boy said. "You didn't have to help me."_

"_True. But it was three against one and I wasn't about to let a bunch of spineless bullies beat up somebody." he replied, extending his hand. "Here."_

_The boy took his hand and Chris helped him get back up to his feet. The boy was in pretty rough shape. He had a number of bruises and cuts but nothing appeared to be broken. "C'mon, I'll take you to my parents. They're doctors." he said, helping the injured boy walk to his house. "My name's Chris, Chris Dante."_

"_I'm Zane Scirocco."_

-_End Flashback_-

"No...It can't be..." he whispered.

_"It's been quite a while, Chris."_ Zane said, aiming the GINN's railgun at the Raven.

Chris froze. "But how...Junius Seven was destroyed..."

_"Isn't it obvious? Like you, I wasn't there."_ he replied. _"Why did you betray your own kind? Why are you fighting for those bastards?"_

Chris shook his head. This wasn't the Zane he knew. The Zane he knew was a pacifist, who hated violence in all its forms. "What happened to you Zane? Once, you hated the idea of wars. So why are you in the cockpit of that GINN?"

_"The Zane you knew died alongside Junius Seven!"_ Zane shouted. _"Now die traitor!"_

The railgun fired again. But the shot went wide. _"Dammit!" _Zane cursed as he tried to properly calibrate the weapon. _"You stupid weapon!"_

Chris brought the Raven's own railguns to bear. But...He just couldn't bring himself to fire. Zane on the other hand, was more than able to fire again.

This time, the round hit its target, tearing through the left side of the Raven's head. Fortunately, it didn't destroy the Raven's head. Instead, it tore up the armor of left side of the head and damaged the camera in the left eye.

_"Stop!"_ Lacus shouted. _"Are you trying to start a battle in the presence of a War Memorial Representative?"_

_"Are you joking? Are you that stupid?"_ Zane said. _"This is war! There are no rules, but to wipe out your opponent! It doesn't stop because of some prissy, weak, pink haired brat wants it to!"_

_"That's enough Zane."_ Rau said over the comm. _"You disobeyed my orders and engaged a mobile suit with a civilian practically standing right next to it. Return to the _Vesalius_."_

_"But sir-"_

_"Return. Or your punishment will be worse."_

_"Yes sir."_

The GINN and the Aegis took off, heading back for the _Vesalius_. While the Raven left for the _Archangel_.

Chris didn't say anything as the Raven entered the _Archangel_'s hanger. He didn't say anything as armed guards pulled him from the cockpit. Nor did he say anything as they threw him in the brig.

His entire thoughts were on Zane. How could he become so consumed by anger and hatred? How could he just turn his back to everything he believed in?

Most of all, he wondered if he'd ever see the friend he once knew again.

* * *

Unknown to the two sides, something unusual was happening on the dark side of the moon. Unseen and undetected by all sensors at this far a range, the particles that began to gather remained well concealed. But these particles were no ordinary particles. Scientists hadn't even begun to fully understand the mystery behind these little guys, but what they did know was that they had very unusual properties when gathered in groups. These properties varied greatly, but one of them, at least according to generalized theory, was that they could allow a dimensional gateway to open up anywhere in any reality. This was one mystery that baffled even the scientists at ZAFT, although NASA was conducting its own studies on the phenomenon.

Situated in a lab located within the central sector of NASA, the studies discovered that as the particles coalesced into a large cluster, an orb usually took shape and somehow wound up burrowing through the space-time continuum and thus creating a gateway to any world at any place, any time. The scientists at NASA therefore concluded that this means of travel was very risky, and resigned themselves to merely studying it further. The particles, they also discovered, had to be created under the right conditions. And the only way to do that was to as closely mimic them as possible.

Copying the exact conditions was next to impossible. But out in the vast reaches of space, the conditions were perfect for the formation.

After clustering into the orb, the tunnel to another universe was torn open and the person traveling through the tunnel emerged from it right into a new conflict.

He shook his head as he struggled to get his bearings. All he really recalled after the battle was a wormhole somehow forming and sucking in his machine and himself, taking him to who knew where.

His training kicked in and he activated the exterior cameras, his eyes taking in the location displayed.

He knew just from looking that he had arrived in the middle of a battle. The high-range cameras picked up the lights and flashes of laser fire and explosions. He also noted tiny dots—ships—slugging it out with one another. And in the middle of them all was a mobile suit, but one he wasn't familiar with.

The area around him seemed to have free floating atoms, which alerted him to the energy behind it. It was there to scramble surrounding neutrons, and disrupt nuclear reactions. Concern flooded his body and be brought up the nuclear reactor display. It was fully functional. The Gundanium seemed to be blocking the energy he noted, which was good in case he needed to fight.

His eyes narrowed and he realized that there was only one thing he could do right now. He had to bide his time and wait…

* * *

A newcomer has arrived, and will play a major role in the coming fights. Can you guess as to who it is? Please read and review! Note: any flames _**will**_ be reported and/or deleted, depending on if the one sending it has signed in or not. Constructive criticism is appreciated as well! Keep up the reviews! ^^


	10. Phase 9: Stars Falling in Space

Phase Nine: Stars Falling in Space

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: You would be correct about the suit being from the Wing 'verse. :3**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are.**

**Anyways, please read and review!**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

Chris opened up his eyes just as the door to the brig opened up. Flay stood there, her eyes red and puffy from crying all night.

"Hello Flay…" Chris muttered as he looked down.

Flay walked up and stood near the brig itself. "How do you make it go away?" she asked quietly.

This got Chris off guard. "What?"

"The pain! This pain is eating away at me and it won't stop!" Flay cried as she grabbed at the bars of the cell Chris was in. "I just want it to stop making me like this!"

Chris looked down again. "The pain never really goes away. I had to learn that the hard way. All you can do is use it for something else."

He then looked at Flay. "Ignoring the pain is not the way to handle it. The pain will just destroy you from the inside out. As it nearly did to me and my sister…'Dealing' with the feelings is not much better. They just bottle up slower than when ignoring the pain. The only way that you can deal with the anger, the sorrow, the rage, is to harness those feelings and use them for something else that is not vengeance. That is what I was taught after I went through Junius Seven."

Flay stared at Chris, a newfound respect in her eyes. "Akira also did the same thing, yet he was also driven by a goal, and that is to get revenge for his sister." Chris added.

"Then, isn't he using his pain for vengeance?!" Flay asked in alarm.

"Well…yes and no. He _is_ committing his pain to something else, yet he is also still affected by what he had seen. It is sort of…hard to explain right now…" Chris explained.

"How do I channel the pain?" Flay asked.

"That is up to you. I put mine into martial arts and my guitar lessons and now I use it to protect the ship as well. That is just me though. You decide on what to dedicate yourself to." Chris said.

"Could you…help me?" Flay inquired.

"What?" Chris was confused.

"Teach me to play the guitar, teach me martial arts, _anything_ to help me feel something else other than this pain!" Flay cried.

Chris sighed. "As soon as I get out of here, I will teach you. How does that sound?" he asked. Flay nodded her head. "You just have to follow my instructions to the letter, you got that?"

"Yes."

* * *

_Next morning_

_Archangel Bridge…_

"The defendant fails to understand how much his actions have endangered this ship's safety." Ensign Badgiruel declared.

"Your Honor, the statement is a gross and untrue exaggeration. I request it be removed from the record." Lieutenant La Flaga requested.

"I allow its removal." Lieutenant Ramius replied.

"Let's see now…" Mu murmured as he scanned the military law book in his hands. "First off, I believe that using a civilian as a hostage goes against Article 4 of the Corscia Treaty. NASA signed that one as well."

"The actions happen to come under the Exception Section C of the same article…" Badgiruel mused with a smirk.

"Section C…AH!" Mu yelped when he reached the specified page. "Well…the ZAFT forces withdrew after the release of the hostage and did not immediately pursue us"

"_But_ the situation could have ended differently instead of the way it did. And the Raven was damaged as a result of the little…_incursion_!" Badgiruel reminded him.

_'Damn it all! She makes it seem like I was out on nothing but a joyride!'_

"I did not agree with _your_ way of handling things." Chris replied. "And according to the rules of OMNI, which you made us all read, there is nothing that says using a civilian guest as a hostage is legal. So, if anyone should be on trial, it is _you_, not me, _'ma'am'_."

Natarle just gaped. How dare this…_boy_…talk to her like that! She was about to interrupt, but the captain stopped her cold. "He is right, Ensign Badgiruel. And frankly, although what he did was wrong, I am even more disappointed in you. And don't think that this will be reported to NASA." Natarle gulped at the threat.

Murrue then looked up at the defendant. "Christopher Dante, is there anything you would like to say in your defense here?"

"I accept that my actions were wrong and full responsibility for them." Chris replied. "I only ask that Kira, Nisha, Sai, Liz, and Miri are spared from any punishment you have prepared. It was my idea, so I will accept the full punishment."

"Chris Dante, your actions were in violation of Article 3, Section B; in violation of Article 10, Section F; and in violation of Article 13, Section 3 of the military law. In following the military law, I have no choice but to sentence you to death for your actions…" Murrue murmured.

Chris paled. Death?! But wasn't that reserved only for the military?! He had expected something like cleaning out toilets with a toothbrush, not death!

"However, since the military law has no application towards civilians, that is only under court martial." Murrue added when she saw Chris's expression. "I _can_ call upon Chris Dante to think his action through next time, though. Court adjourned."

Chris sighed with relief. "Whew…I was scared for a few minutes there…" he sighed. "Oh, Lieutenant La Flaga, remind me to never call on you to defend me again…"

"Then don't go and disobey orders next time!" Mu said with a grin. He tossed the law book away. "I won't come to defend you next time, anyway."

Chris chuckled as he left the room. Kira, Nisha, Sai, Liz, and Miri were all waiting for him. "What did they say?" Miri asked.

"They let me off with a warning." Chris replied.

"WHAT?! They gave us all latrine duty!" Liz shouted.

"That sucks then…" Chris replied nonchalantly.

Liz just looked at him, dumbstruck.

"What?" Chris asked. "I expected you to say 'Sorry guys, allow me to do if for you.'" She replied.

"I am not like Kira in that respect. I am not as selfless. You guys can clean them. I'm not touching them." Chris replied as Nisha smirked.

Liz just punched him.

"What was that for?!"

"You know what for, and next time, expect a food tray!"

* * *

_Two hours later_

_Hanger…_

Chris entered the hanger, where the repairs were taking place. He approached his aunt, who was overseeing the repairs of the Raven's damaged head.

"How are the repairs coming?" Chris asked.

"We have managed to repair the internal damage and replace the armor on the side of the head itself. Unfortunately, we don't have a spare faceplate to replace the damaged one right now." Johanna explained. "We are going to try and ding out the scratches on it before putting a metal plate underneath to protect the internal components. However, that will weaken the head armor's strength as a whole."

"Got it." Chris replied.

"What happened out there anyway?" Johanna inquired.

"It is something that I have to deal with alone."

"Well, are you staying then?" the woman asked.

"Yes."

"Well, you are not the only one. I too will be staying. I need to see the combat data of the Strike, the Raven, and the Z.A.M. Gundam before I leave for ORB and Morgenroete with the data." His aunt replied.

* * *

_Gamow…_

"While it is possible for us to catch up with them, by the time we reach the legged ship, we'll only have ten minutes until we are within the range of the Lunar Fleet." Nicol explained as he looked over the data.

"You mean that we have a _full_ ten minutes, Nicol." Dearka smirked at the younger Coordinator.

"I suggest that all of you cowards keep your traps shut…" Yzak growled.

"Shut up, Yzak!" Saul snapped. He did not like this already. "If all four of us were to take on that ship _and_ the Lunar Fleet, we would not stand a chancel!"

"Is there only ten minutes or are there a full ten minutes? It is all in how one looks at it." Yzak smirked. "If we have a window of opportunity, I say we take it!"

"I agree with Yzak. Time does not measure the actual success rate of the sneak attack." Dearka agreed.

"I know, but-" Nicol was cut off.

"I have heard that the _Vesalius_, the 'Maverick Fleet', and the 11th Fleet will be heading back as soon as Miss Clyne is transferred over to the Laconi team." Yzak explained. "We take out the legged ship before then."

"Yeah."

"Very well…"

"Fine, let's just get this thing over with."

* * *

_Archangel…_

"Okay Flay. I'm gonna teach how to fight." Chris said. "Now, this is to be used only for defense, of either yourself or someone else. Not to beat people up or try to get vengeance on someone. If I've found out that you've been doing that, I won't teach anymore."

Chris grabbed a bag sitting on his bed. "Put this on." he said, handing her the bag.

"But this is a boy's uniform."

"Yeah." he replied as he headed out of the room, to allow her to change. "All the women's uniforms have skirts. And those aren't practical for what we're going to do."

A few minutes later, Flay had changed and they began. Chris started off by teaching her some basic exercises. She was okay at it. He had seen people better at it. And he had seen people worse at it. But she was determined. He'd give her that.

Suddenly, alarms went off_. "All hands! Report to level one battle stations! Repeat..."_

"That's it for today." Chris said. "You can practice the exercises on your own or you can wait until the next time we can do this."

* * *

_Outer Space…_

The Moebius Zero, the Strike (equipped with the Aile Striker), and the Raven, all left the _Archangel_ while the Z.A.M. Gundam stayed by the ship, ready for combat.

In response, the Buster, the Duel, the Blitz, and the Surge all left in a tight formation, heading towards the _Archangel_. The four then spilt up and a blast from the _Gamow_'s cannons fired past them. One missed while the other barely grazed the white ship.

Mu activated his gun-barrels and began to fire on the Buster. The bullets had little effect on the Phase Shift armor of the machine however, and just in a sense, bounced off. Dearka fired back with its gun launcher and rifle, while the Surge headed for the the Raven. Saul fired his Hakenfaust claw at the Raven. Chris brought the Raven's shield up, blocking the claw. The Raven's left hand grabbed the claw's cable and pulled. Saul was caught off guard by this and the Surge was pulled to the Raven. When the Surge reached the Raven, Chris drove its knee into the Surge's chest.

_"Nicol, we'll handle these Mobile Suits. You get to the ship and destroy it."_ Yzak shouted over the com-line.

_"Roger."_

The Blitz headed for the _Archangel_ while the Duel took on the Strike. The two machines battled it out with their guns at first, but then switched over to beam sabers once their pilots realized that neither of them could get a shot in.

Meanwhile, the Blitz dodged the guns on the ship, avoiding and maneuvering around the shots while making its way towards the bridge area. Nicol then opened fire on the bridge tower, attempting to wipe out the reinforced armor around the area. But in response, a round of missiles sped past the Blitz, startling Nicol. He had been ambushed!

_"Kira, Chris! Where are you?! We're under attack from the Blitz and in need of some serious help! Nisha can't defend us by himself!"_ Miriallia called over the com-line.

The Blitz missed the Z.A.M. Gundam, but Nisha could not hit the other machine either.

Kira faced the _Archangel_, hoping he could do something. They _needed_ him. They were _counting_ on him! He would _not_ let them down again! In the back of his mind, a purple seed exploded at that point, just as he headed for the white ship.

"You coward! You are not getting away from me that easily!" Yzak shouted. He pulled out his beam rifle and fired.

The Strike flew around the beams with no effort, shocking Yzak. A moment later, Kira reached the Blitz and attacked. The beam saber missed Nicol, who had dodged with little time to spare. But it only led him to having the Strike knee the Blitz in response, knocking the ZAFT pilot back. Yzak attacked again, this time from behind. Kira was faster though, and stabbed the Duel in the left side of its waist using one of its combat knives. A power surge flooded the Duel's cockpit, making the main screen explode.

Yzak screamed in pain as shrapnel was embedded in his face.

_"Yzak!"_ Nicol cried as he brought the Blitz beside the Duel. _"Are you alright?! Say something!"_

"It burns! It burns!" Yzak cried as he clutched at his face.

_"Saul! Dearka! Yzak's hurt! We have to retreat now before the enemy can fire on us!"_ Nicol shouted in fear.

_"Damn it! Withdrawing now…"_ Dearka replied as the Buster withdrew.

_"Damn you… What is up with that ship and the Mobile Suits there? It is like they are unbeatable when compared to us!"_ Saul muttered as he flew the Surge away from the battle site.

_"That was amazing, Kira!"_ Nisha called over the com-line.

_"No, that was beyond amazing. It was incredible!"_ Mu replied.

* * *

_A few hours later_

_Archangel…_

"Well, we have joined up with the fleet now. So why are we in such a hurry to get this fixed?" Kira asked as he stuck his head out of the cockpit of the Moebius Zero.

"I don't feel secure with it damaged." Mu replied.

"_And_ the pilots of the 8th Fleet are still newbies when it comes to combat." Murrue replied. "La Flaga may have to fly sortie and teach them."

"But what about the Strike, Raven, and the Z.A.M. Gundams?" Kira asked. "Should we leave them as they are?"

"Well…if we change the OS back, then the power of the machines will dramatically decrease, and so will the abilities." Murrue replied.

"Actually, there is no need to worry about the Raven." Chris replied as he floated up. "I'm staying."

"WHAT?!" Kira was shocked. "You're staying?!"

"Yeah. There is something that I still need to do. And I cannot do it unless I stay. But as I have said before, you don't have to do what I do. You make up your own mind, Kira." Chris replied.

"I am staying as well. I need to try and bring Akira back to his senses, and I feel that fighting him may be the only way to do so." Nisha said as he looked at the Z.A.M. Gundam. "I just hope I'll be able to…"

"Then I guess I won't have to try and convince you…" Murrue said with a smile on her face. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I feel that we should talk Kira."

Kira stared at the woman before she laughed. "Don't give me that look. I can't really blame you." Murrue laughed. "Come on; let's get out of here and talk."

The two left towards the Strike.

"Well, I suppose I should tell Sai and the others that I am staying…" Chris sighed.

* * *

Flay, Sai, Kuzzey, Tolle, Liz, and Miri all were shocked.

"WHAT?!" Liz shouted. "You're staying?!"

"Yes, could you tone it down?" Chris asked.

"Well, I guess that is that…" Sai murmured.

Flay was in deep though as she watched Chris. She needed him to help her deal with her pain. She did not believe that she could handle it on her own at the moment. She was going to stay…no…she _needed_ to stay.

* * *

_Vesalius…_

"The legged ship is now with Admiral Halberton's 8th Fleet. That could be troublesome to us…" Rau mused. "And based on their position, we can assume that they will send the legged ship down to Earth. We can only try one more time before they leave our domain."

_"We can be assured that they will defend the ship with everything they have got. Even their very lives…"_ Commander White agreed.

_"That is one thing we are certain of."_ Diana Kessel added.

"But remember, the 8th Fleet is not our target this time." Rau reminded the other commander. "It is the legged ship and those troublesome Mobile Suits."

_"I will have all of the GINNs that we have equipped with the ballutes."_ Diana replied.

"But that will slow us down, slow _me_ down!" Zane protested.

_"This is an orbital battle, kid!"_ the other commander snarled. _"Anyone who is piloting a GINN that gets caught in Earth's gravity will not survive re-entry! It is normal safety procedure for ZAFT."_

"I agree. While those new machines may be able to survive the re-entry, the GINNs cannot." Rau said. "All GINNs are to be equipped with ballutes for this fight."

(Note: I am using the ballute idea from Akatsuki_Leader13's fic. ZAFT would no doubt have something like that, so I decided to use it as well. The idea does **not **belong to me however.)

* * *

_Archangel…_

"Discharge papers?" Sai asked, looking at the paper in his hand.

"Yes. In order to avoid legal problems, we have declared you all to be Earth Alliance soldiers." Captain Hoffman explained. "Signing these papers will allow you to leave the ship with the civilians."

Flay raised her hand. "Excuse me…"

"You were never involved in combat. Therefore you will not need the papers."

"That's not it…I want to join the Earth Alliance Military!" Flay blurted.

Sai was shocked. "WHAT?!"

"You _do_ realize what you are saying, don't you?" Ensign Badgiruel asked.

"Look, I know it is not for the fun of it. I have been thinking about it since the day my father was killed." Flay explained. "After all that has happened, all that I could think about was how I could not handle it. And I realized that killing has been happening since the war started."

A fresh set of tears threatened to spill over, yet Flay held her resolve. "If I join the fight, then I can at least try to help end the war. Even if my abilities are of no use to the military, I will find a way to help end this war!"

"Very well, then." Badgiruel smirked. "Come with me."

The two left. Sai looked down at the paper in his hands, and tore it in two. "Flay said exactly what I was thinking. Besides, if I left here, what kind of person would I be to leave her here alone?"

"Well, they _did_ say that the _Archangel_ was short-staffed. And I would feel bad if the ship was shot down somewhere down the road as well." Tolle explained as he too tore up his paper.

Miri then followed his own example. "If you are staying, then I am too." She explained.

Kuzzey just looked at his papers, then left, not even bothering to tear them in two.

* * *

_Vesalius…_

Yzak now wore bandages on his face, covering the area where he had gotten hurt.

"Damn, Yzak. Never expected you to get such a nasty wound…" Dearka mused. He was somewhat shocked, yet also impressed.

"Shut it, Dearka!" Yzak snarled.

"We have been called to help out with the 8th Fleet!" Nicol shouted. Yzak's frown then turned into a sneer. "Well, let us do so then!" he snarled as he yanked off the bandages.

"Stop, Yzak! The wound still needs to heal!" Dearka shouted, but was stopped by Yzak's hand.

"I plan to get even with that bastard for this!" the silver-haired boy snarled.

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

"Well, Kira, this is where we part ways." Chris said as he looked at the other boy. They reached the shuttle lineup. "Take care of yourself down there…"

"Yeah…you too." Kira replied.

A small girl then floated up to the two Coordinators. She reached into a small bag she had with her and took out a paper flower.

"Thank you for protecting us…" the girl said as she handed each boy a flower.

"Thanks." Chris said, a smile on his face. He patted the little girl on her head.

"Hey, Kira!" Tolle shouted as he, Liz, Nisha, Sai, and Miri all approached the two.

"Hey. I have been looking all over for you guys! Why are-" Tolle shoved a paper in front of his face.

"Can't leave without those discharge papers." Tolle said, a smirk on his face. "You're going alone. The rest of us decided to stay."

Chris sighed. "I see you didn't listen to me again, Liz."

"We all decided to. Even Flay." Miri explained.

_"All hands, report to level one battle stations! Repeat…"_

"They're playing my song, it looks like." Chris said with a grin. "Well, good luck, Kira!"

"Yeah, good luck, Kira." Tolle said, patting his back. "You had better not do something stupid without us there to watch your back."

"Good-bye, Kira." Miri said as she too left.

"Bye, Kira. I'll make sure my brother doesn't do anything stupid, so don't worry." Liz said.

"Take care of yourself, Kira." Nisha said at last.

"Good-bye Kira. Take care of yourself in ORB." Sai replied as he too left. Kuzzey, the last one to reach the shuttle, boarded without even looking back.

"Well, we had better head to our stations." Tolle said as he looked at the others. "And _you_ have a shuttle to catch." He added looking at Kira.

Kira stared as the group left the hanger. He looked down at the discharge papers, then at the paper flower. He was torn on what to do. Images of his past battles flooded his mind. The destruction of Heliopolis, the battles against the stolen Gundams, Akira's betrayal, his failure to protect Flay's father, and the little girl that gave him the paper flower…

"Are you coming, kid?" the shuttle boarder asked.

"No. Go on without me. I am staying." Kira replied, throwing the paper on the ground.

* * *

_Earth Orbit…_

The stolen Gundams, the crimson GINN, the custom GINNs of the 'Maverick Fleet', and the GINNs of the 11th Fleet team launched, heading for the 8th Fleet of the Earth Alliance and the _Archangel_.

_"Hey, Yzak…are you sure that you should be piloting the Duel after what had happened?"_ Akira asked.

"Just shut up and stay out of my way!" Yzak snarled from the Duel, which was now equipped with an armor shroud. "I'm going to take down the Strike once and for all!"

The Earth Forces deployed all of the Mobile Armors and opened fire from their warships, yet it was all in vain. The technologically superior ZAFT forces were far too strong, and the ships began to fall, one by one. The Mobile Armors were destroyed and their home warships were either crippled or destroyed. However, the _Vesalius_ took care of any warships that were fleeing the area.

"That damn snake. Firing on retreating ships…is he trying to prevent the Earth Forces from rebuilding their strength?" Commander White wondered.

_"It is possible, father."_ Tao said as she shot down a Mobile Armor.

_"Firing on retreating forces."_ Diana said in disgust at Creuset's tactics. _"What a cowardly and dishonorable man."_

_"What'd ya expected from the masked snake himself?"_ Ajay said, gunning down a mobile armor.

Nearby, the Le Creuset Team made its way in deeper into the 8th Fleet. They were searching out the _Archangel_ and her Mobile Suits.

"Where is that damn Raven?!" Zane snarled as he shot down a Mobile Armor.

* * *

_Archangel…_

Chris and Nisha had finished zipping up their flight suits when Kira entered the room. "Kira, what happened to you leaving?" Chris asked.

"I decided to stay after all." Kira replied.

"Well, I am glad to hear that. Defending the ship by myself is not what I was looking forward too, anyway." Chris remarked. "Well, not without you anyway…"

Kira quickly put on his flight suit and the three headed towards the hanger. But upon reaching the hanger, they found Mu and the Captain in a heated argument over the com-line. "But, Captain, their target is this ship! If the kids and I deploy, we'll be able to draw some of the enemy Mobile Suits away from the Fleet!"

_"Our ship has not been signaled to join the battle. Please remain on stand-by for now."_ Murrue replied.

Mu swore out loud and punched the wall hard. Kira, Chris, and Nisha looked at him before speaking.

"Why is the Captain not allowing us to launch? We are under attack, aren't we?" Kira asked.

"Yeah, but she is worried about getting a sudden order from Admiral Halberton and the two of us being too far away to help…" Mu replied as he turned around.

"Hey…wait a minute…why are you here kid?" he asked Kira upon seeing him there.

"I decided to stay and help." Kira said.

"Good to hear that, then." Mu replied. "Well, you heard our Captain. Let's get to our machines and launch!"

* * *

_Earth Orbit…_

The 8th Fleet was putting up a valiant fight against the 7th Fleet and 11th Fleet, but their pilots were no match for the elite pilots of the enemy. The pilots of the 8th Fleet were just too inexperienced and their Mobile Armors too outclassed for ZAFT's custom GINNs. The black and purple GINNs raced through the Earth Forces ships, wreaking havoc everywhere they went.

Tao opened up on a couple of _Drake_-class warships, destroying their guns with the heavy weapon she was using. The heavy plasma cannons fired, hitting a third ship in the process. A trio of Mobile Armors tried to sneak up on her, yet they were attacked by Heidi, who was out in her GINN as well.

"I don't think so, creeps!" she cried as she gunned down two and sliced the third in half.

Tao faced Heidi and fired on a Mobile Armor that had tried a sneak attack on her as well.

Basque Gideon fired on a pair of _Drake_-class battleships with his shin mounted missiles and Barrus cannon. Missiles and beams struck the warships' sides, destroying part of the first and heavily damaging the second. A trio of Moebius mobile armors fired on the Tyr from behind.

"I don't think so, pals!" Ajay said, ambushing the trio.

He gunned down the first two and slicing the third in two with one of his combat knives.

Lucius turned to Ajay, aimed and fired. Two mobile armors exploded behind Ajay's GINN.

_'Even without the Black Hawk, the 11th Fleet is still devastating… and that is not including the 7th Fleet as well…'_ Halberton thought as more casualties came in.

"Sir, we have an incoming communication from the _Archangel_!" an aide reported.

"Put them through at once." Halberton ordered.

_"Admiral, I would like to begin the descent to Earth with your permission."_ Murrue explained as she came on the main screen. _"The _Archangel_ is their target, and if we descend now, we can save the 8th Fleet."_

Admiral Halberton wondered if it was a good idea, but another explosion from space changed his mind.

"Go, we will give you cover. Good luck, Captain Ramius…" he said as the line was then cut.

"Sir! We have four _Nazca_-class as well as the Duel, the Wing, the Buster, and two GINNs pursuing them!" the aide then reported.

"Bring us between them and the _Archangel_." Halberton ordered. "And launch the pod with the data. We cannot allow it, or the _Archangel_, to be destroyed…no matter what the cost…"

* * *

The _Archangel_ began her descent into the atmosphere of Earth. They were not alone, however as the Wing, the Duel, the Buster, the crimson GINN, and the Zeus flew past the _Menelaos_ and the other nearby EA ships. Their target was the _Archangel_.

"Captain, please, you have to let us launch!" Mu cried from the cockpit of his Moebius Zero. "We can fight till the last second before we have to return."

_"And according the specs, the Strike, Raven, and Z.A.M. Gundam can enter the atmosphere on their own."_ Kira added.

_"Besides, if we launch now, we can draw some of them away from the 8th Fleet."_ Nisha finished.

_"And that could lead to some of the fleet surviving."_ Chris remarked.

_"Very well. Just be careful."_ Murrue replied.

The Z.A.M. Gundam launched first, followed by the Strike and Raven while the Moebius Zero was last.

"Damn it!" Chris swore as he felt the Raven being pulled towards Earth. "This was _definitely_ a very stupid thing to do…"

_"You won't hear any arguing from me, kid."_ Mu added as he and the other two pushed their thrusters to the max. _"This is the first time I have done something like this."_

_"Tell me about it…"_ Nisha grunted.

Yzak smirked upon seeing the Strike. "There you are. Time for some payback!" he sneered as he flew towards the other machine, a beam saber drawn out.

The two Mobile Suits clashed as they tried to damage each other. Meanwhile, Dearka was firing on the Moebius Zero, which dodged his shots. In turn, Mu deployed his gun-barrels and fired on the Buster.

_"This time, there is no pink-haired brat to save you!"_ Zane sneered as he opened fire on the Raven. Chris had to fight the red GINN while in orbital re-entry.

Chris gritted his teeth as he tried to avoid most of the shots. It was failing, big time…

"How did you become like this Zane?" Chris said, dodging the round. "You were never had an ounce of hatred in your body."

_"As I told you. That was then, this is now."_ Zane said, firing again and again. _"But the time for talk is over."_

Chris continued to dodge. He couldn't bring himself to fire on his friend, even when he was in this state.

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

He observed the battle before him. One ship was trying to get away while under attack from the others. A desperate attempt to escape no doubt… He pushed the throttle forward, his machine's engines roaring as he headed towards the battle site. He had waited long enough…

* * *

The _Gamow_ pulled ahead of the _Vesalius_ and headed for the _Archangel_.

"They're making a suicide attack!" Captain Hoffman cried.

"Fire all of our weapons on the _Laurasia_-class ship! And launch the civilian shuttle!" Halberton ordered. "We have come too far to allow that ship to be destroyed by anyone…"

The _Menelaos_ flew alongside the _Gamow_ as the civilian shuttle was launched into space. The two warships fought their final battle furiously, but in the end, both exploded into fireballs of remains only. Captain Ramius, Ensign Badgiruel, Commander Kessel, and Commander White all saluted their comrades' heroic sacrifice.

Kira and Yzak were still locked in their heated duel, even as the Earth's gravity brought them down even further. Not too far away, a new battle had broken out. Nisha was now fighting Akira again. The Wing and Z.A.M. Gundams were now getting closer to Earth as well. Akira opened fire with the Wing's beam rifle, only to have Nisha block it. "You can't hit me!" Nisha snarled as he opened fire with missiles from the Z.A.M. Gundam's shoulders.

The projectiles sped towards Akira, who dodged using the Wing's superior speed. One missile managed to slam into the Wing though, making Akira grunt as his machine shook with the impact.

_'Damn it! How did I let that one get by?!'_ Akira thought as he tried to reclaim some of his thoughts. The boy then glanced back at the hovering form of the Z.A.M. Gundam, only to open fire with the Hellfire mini-missiles. Nisha then let loose a couple of beam-blasts from the shoulder cannons of the Z.A.M. Gundam.

Akira gasped as the missiles were counteracted by the powerful beams. The explosions were not visible in space, but the sensors on each machine registered an increase in the heat around them. Akira then snarled as he took out the twin beam sabers from the Wing's hips. He ignited the glowing golden blades and flew at the Z.A.M. Gundam as Nisha took out his beam sabers as well. Then, he too flew at his opponent, the Wing Gundam.

The two machines collided as the blades met one another, pink hitting gold. "You will _NEVER_ understand me! _NEVER_!" Akira yelled as he pushed against the pink beam sabers of the Z.A.M. Gundam, making Nisha gasp. The Z.A.M. Gundam was stronger than the Wing, so how was Akira doing this?!

Nisha never figured it out. It was then that he was pushed with such force he went flying from his opponent towards the red GINN and his own opponent. The twin beam sabers of the Wing carried the force with which Nisha was sent flying, his own beam sabers shutting down and re-attaching themselves to the Z.A.M. Gundam's hips with magnets. How could he have not realized the true power of the Wing?!

Elsewhere, Zane and Chris were battling it out too. Neither could gain the upper hand. Suddenly, the civilian shuttle appeared between the two.

"What? Cowards fleeing the battlefield? Well then, DIE!" Zane said, taking aim at the shuttle.

_"NO! Don't! There are innocent civilians on that shuttle!"_ Chris screamed. _"Leave them alone, Zane!"_ Akira added.

Akira was shaking in the Wing's cockpit. What was Zane thinking?! And for that matter, why was he even caring about such a thing? Wasn't it a part of war, the death of civilians? Deep down, he knew the reason why, and it had to do with where he had been born, yet it seemed even his words went unheard.

Zane paid no heed to Akira's cry. _"Innocent? No one is innocent among the human race! It is time that you learned about that!"_ he snarled back.

Zane fired his railgun at the small shuttle. The beam tore through the smaller craft, just as a knife would through butter. The screams of all those on board were heard on the com-lines of all the ships and Mobile Suit pilots. Chris stared as tears fell down his face, each one glistening in the light of the explosion that consumed the shuttle's remains.

Zane's insane laughter followed, just as a greyish green seed exploded in Chris's mind. "NOOOO!" he cried as he then attacked. The Raven flew at the GINN as it took out its beam saber, the weapon ready to impale the enemy pilot.

The GINN dodged, just as Chris let out a snarl of rage and primal strength. "BASTARD!"

Zane sneered to himself, knowing that his abilities would be his key to victory in the fight.

Chris attacked with the Raven's beam saber, only to find Zane blocking his attack. _"You cannot beat me!"_ he sneered over the com-line. But in response, Chris brought the Raven's knee into his GINN's gut. The other machine floated back with the force, giving Chris some room to back off.

Chris then slashed at Zane's machine, making the other pilot growl with rage at the move. He dodged, but not without a glancing blow to the arm of his unit. How dare he attack him like that! But what Zane did not know was that Chris was reacting the way anyone normally would, Natural or Coordinator.

In a blind rage, Zane tried to attack Chris with his machine's railgun, only for him to move aside as he missed. He then caught sight of his opponent's railgun aiming at him. Zane snarled, rage coming to his mind. The ZAFT pilot grabbed the railgun, only to have it fire at him!

Nisha, seeing the shuttle blow up, also attacked, Akira backing off. His own rage was fueled by the screams of those lost. Akira, however, had felt the pain of his own loss reawaken, making his golden seed explode again as tears ran down the side of his face.

"Now do you see the helplessness I felt that day!?" he cried as the Wing attacked the Z.A.M. Gundam. Nisha dodged a single beam rifle shot, only to fire off a blast from the shoulder cannons. Akira dodged the blasts with no trouble at all. Nisha could not react fast enough to dodge a punch from the Wing.

Nisha then fired a slew of missiles from the Z.A.M. Gundam's chest. Akira countered by firing off a slew of Hellfire mini-missiles. The two batches of missiles countered each other, so the two machines were unharmed when the smoke faded. Nisha attacked, the Z.A.M. Gundam's hand punching the Wing right in the face.

Akira grunted as he tried to move the Wing to the left, only for the Z.A.M. Gundam to punch his machine again. The boy let out a cry as he was thrown to the side, his helmet protecting him from hitting his head.

"No…Kira murmured as he observed the explosion as well.

"What a monster…firing on a civilian shuttle…" Yzak murmured in disgust.

The Strike and Duel began to shake at that point. The gravity of Earth was starting to become more pronounced at this point.

"Damn it! I can't stick around now!" Yzak swore as he flew off. The Duel tried to escape the planet's gravitational pull alongside the Buster while Kira headed for the _Archangel_.

"ZANE!" Chris snarled as he attacked.

Zane laughed as sidestepped and fired back. The Raven effortlessly dodged the rounds and its left hand drew a beam saber. The GINN's railgun ran out of ammo. "Damn it." Zane cursed as tried to reload.

Chris, seeing the opening, struck with his beam saber. Zane hit his thrusters, trying to dodge. But he wasn't fast enough. The saber sliced off the GINN's legs at the knees.

Zane swore. _"I'm not done yet!"_

Zane aimed his reloaded railgun at the Raven. At this range, Chris wouldn't be able to dodge in time.

_Warning: Terminal velocity reached. Ballute system activating._

The GINN's ballute deployed, dramatically slowing down the machine and sending it upwards.

_"Gah! Dammit! Stupid ballute! Not now!"_ Zane cursed.

He was vulnerable now. One shot and his ballute would be destroyed, leaving him to burn up in the atmosphere.

However, Chris wasn't in any position to attack. The g-forces and heat from reentry were growing too great for him. Chris quickly extended the Raven's wings, slowing down his descent. But it wasn't enough and he passed out.

_"Chris! We have to get back to the ship!" _Kira shouted. _"Chris? Can you hear me?"_

There was no response. Kira swore and headed towards the Raven. He reached out and grabbed the Raven. He put his shield in front of them, trying to slow down their descent even further. He tried to move back to the _Archangel_. But the Strike's thrusters weren't strong enough.

* * *

Nisha, however, was not in such a good position. His machine was re-entering the atmosphere at an unusually high speed and he needed to slow down soon. He engaged the thrusters on the back of the Z.A.M. Gundam, but it wasn't enough. The pull of Earth's gravity was just too great. Nisha put the shield in front of the Z.A.M. Gundam and tried to escape using the Z.A.M. Gundam's thrusters a second time, but the effort was far too great for him and he passed out.

Akira, on the other hand, had turned the Wing to its aircraft form and was now just a trail of fire in the atmosphere.

"Bring us to the same trajectory as the Strike, the Raven and Z.A.M. Gundam!" Murrue ordered.

"Captain?!"

"This will all be meaningless if we manage to reach the SAF Alaska base without the Strike, the Raven, or the Z.A.M. Gundam!"

The _Archangel_'s thrusters headed the ship towards the two falling machines. Once the ship was underneath the Strike, Kira set the Raven down, and then passed out as well.

* * *

He looked at the falling machine and the ship's trajectory. From what he had heard on the radio, the ship was trying to raise the other machine's pilot but was not getting a response. _'It appears to be from the ship.'_

His machine's optics flashed green, giving him the answer he needed. "Very well, Zero. Let's go."

The Z.A.M. Gundam was falling further and further away from the _Archangel_, the ship unable to reach it.

"We're losing the Z.A.M. Gundam!" Sai exclaimed as he watched the radar screen.

But before anyone could do anything, a new contact appeared on the radar. "New contact! It's heading for the Z.A.M. Gundam!" Sai shouted as the radar picked up the new movements.

"Are you sure?!" Murrue asked. "Positive!" Sai replied.

"What is it?" Ensign Badgiruel asked.

"It's…a mobile suit…" Sai replied as he brought up the camera images. The new machine had a shield like the Strike and some of the same color scheme, but it had two engines protruding from the back of it.

"Do not move…I am returning you to your ship." He murmured as he grabbed the back of the new machine.

"The new machine is returning the Z.A.M. Gundam to us!" Sai exclaimed as a 'clink' was heard, meaning contact had been made.

A new machine had saved the Z.A.M. Gundam from being lost…

* * *

Well, chapter nine is done, and the newcomer saved the Z.A.M. Gundam. Kuzzey died on the civilian shuttle, as he had no real purpose in the show. The 7th Fleet will be on Earth as well, as they are a vital part of the story and are connected to NASA as such. Any and all flames _**will**_ be reported and/or deleted, depending on if the one leaving it is signed in or not. Constructive criticism is appreciated as well. Please read and review!


	11. Phase 10: Burning Clouds of Sand

Phase Ten: Burning Clouds of Sand

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: Sorry, but I already had this planned out. :(**

**KentLinuxStadfelt: Yes, you know who is coming~! XD**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are.**

**Anyway, please read and review!**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

Heero Yuy grunted as he struggled to keep control of Wing Zero as he moved towards the ship that was descending. An alarm told him that he was right over it, and he set Wing Zero down on the legged ship. He then looked back, only to see the Earth getting bigger by the minute. _'Looks like we're heading down to Africa…'_ he mused.

A beep of his radio got his attention. _"Unknown mobile suit, this is the Earth Alliance carrier _Archangel_, the ship you are currently standing on. Identify yourself at once."_ A female voice ordered.

_'Earth Alliance?'_ Heero wondered as he pushed the radio button on his console.

In the ship, Captain Ramius looked at Sai. "Any response?"

"It's highly unlikely that he can at this point. Chris, Nisha, and Kira, are all out, and they are Coordinators!" he replied just as an image of a person in a space suit came on. It was similar to a ZAFT pilot suit except for the helmet, yet all facial features were hidden behind the tinted glass.

_"This is Heero Yuy in Wing Zero responding to the Earth Alliance carrier _Archangel_."_ A young man's voice said. In Wing Zero, Heero could pick out the leader, as she was sitting in the captain's chair.

_"Heero Yuy, I am Captain Murrue Ramius."_ The woman, who had brown hair and brown eyes, said.

"I am returning your mobile suit to you. In return though, I wish for a place to resupply and repair my machine as well as figure out what is going on." Heero explained.

_"Very well, but be warned, any threat against this ship will be dealt with."_ She replied.

"Understood." Heero said.

In the _Archangel_, Captain Ramius looked to Mirillia. "Can we open the hanger?"

"Hanger bay opening." Miri replied as the large doors opened.

As the captain got up, everyone looked at her with a questioning look. "I am heading down to see this Heero Yuy and thank him." She explained. With that, she turned and left for the hanger. As this was happening, Heero was guiding Wing Zero into the hanger, carrying the last machine in, the very one he had rescued, which had lost all of its coloring. Slowly, he lowered the Z.A.M. Gundam to the deck, a man in an orange jumpsuit observing the whole situation with a confused look on his face. Heero then walked Wing Zero over to one of the MS docking bays. He was lucky that his machine fit, considering the big engines on the back of it. He then went through the power down sequence, just as the captain of the ship arrived.

Captain Ramius stared for a few seconds as she observed the new machine. It did have some things in common with the Strike, but it had some bigger differences as well. There were a few dents and cuts all over the body. _'That machine must have seen some tough battles.'_ She noted in her mind.

"What is happening here?" Chief Murdoch asked as his team opened up the Z.A.M. Gundam, the Raven, and the Strike, pulling out the three unconscious pilots.

"This machine saved the Z.A.M. Gundam." Captain Ramius replied.

To everyone's surprise, as soon as the engines shut off, the new mobile suit did not lose its coloring. A door below the big green circle on the chest opened up, the person emerging from the cockpit. Removing the helmet, the person was revealed to be a boy about the same age as the three Coordinators. He had blue eyes and brown hair, and his pilot suit was black with hints of red and white on it. The boy grabbed a pulley and put his foot in the loop, just as it started to lower him to the ground. Once his foot touched the ground, the pulley retracted itself and the door closed up. The few soldiers there were on edge as Captain Ramius approached him.

"You must be Heero Yuy, I assume?" she asked.

"Yes, and right now I am taking a great risk by trusting you, but it seems I have to real choice but to do so right now." Heero said as he looked into the woman's eyes.

_'How can his eyes be so cold, like those of a trained killer?'_ Captain Ramius thought. _'But…he's only a boy…'_

"All I want to do is rearm and repair my Gundam and then I will be out of here." Heero said as Captain Ramius looked at him in shock.

"Is that your machine?"

"Yes, but if anyone tries to mess with it, it will self-destruct and destroy the ship."

Captain Ramius nodded her head in understanding, but deep down, she was shaking. "I understand, but we need to talk to you first. Then we will repair your mobile suit."

* * *

"_So why were you picking a fight with those punks?" Chris asked._

"_Actually, I wasn't trying to pick a fight them." Zane said. "I detest violence."_

"_Well, then you probably should have kept your mouth shut."_

"_No. I won't back down from my beliefs." Zane said. "Coordinators, Naturals. We're all people. Flawed, but decent people. This petty hatred Coordinators and Naturals must end."_

"_Then you should learn to fight. So you can defend yourself."_

"_I told you, I detest violence, even if it's to defend myself."_

"_You really believe that, don't you?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Well then. I tell you what, as you keep on saying that and won't defend yourself. Then those that want to beat you up because of that will have to get through me first."_

* * *

_"So, why did you leave for 2 years?" Nisha asked Akira._

_"I wanted to have some time to myself, that's all…" Akira replied. Nisha could see that his cousin was torn between something, yet he let it slide. It was not like he _had_ to know anyway…_

_"Where did you go?" Nisha asked. The black-haired Coordinator jumped slightly at the question, but answered. "I-I went to N-New Juneau." He replied._

_"Ah…Nice place there." Nisha laughed. "Yeah…sure…" Akira replied._

_There was no wind on the PLANT where Akira was living, just like in all the PLANTs, so there were no breezes like on Earth._

_Yet Nisha never knew what was bothering his cousin…and he wanted to know so that he could help. Akira never revealed what was bothering him…_

* * *

Chris let out a groan as he turned on the bed. He was in the medical bay of the _Archangel_ in an unconscious state. An I.V. was in his arm and he was soaked with sweat. Flay tried to bring down his fever with a wet cloth pressed to his head, yet it did little to help. Across from Chris was Kira, who was basically in the same state as he was, as was Nisha.

"How are they, doc?" Taikyu asked. Like any parent, he was there to see if his child was alright.

Liz was also concerned for her brother.

"Well, despite the fever, none of them have internal injuries or infections. All that we can really do at this point is give them lots of fluids and try to lower their body temperatures…" the doctor replied with a sigh.

"That's all you can do?" Sai asked.

"This _is_ the first time I have given medical treatment to a Coordinator. I am no expert when it comes to diagnosing their symptoms either. All I know is that the capabilities of their bodies are far greater than ours. I would not worry about them too much…" Doctor Hunnicutt replied.

"But, my son-"

"They may _look_ like us, sir, but their internal capabilities are _completely_ different from the rest of us here, aside from Miss Dante here. Coordinator bodies are capable of far greater strength, their minds capable of acquiring more knowledge than ours, and no fatal illnesses can develop with that immune system of theirs." Hunnicutt explained.

Taikyu felt rage fill his body. "So you are saying that they are _not_ human?!" he growled out in a low voice. The doctor gulped.

"N-n-no, not at all!" he stammered out. Taikyu just growled.

"My _son_ is a Coordinator, but that does not make him any less human! His genes are just modified, that's all!" the Natural snapped.

"I u-understand, s-sir…" Hunnicutt replied.

At that moment, the door slid open, and Mu entered the room, having heard the exchange. "I heard what you were saying to the doctor, Taikyu…" the blonde-haired man said with a serious look.

Taikyu just glared at Mu. "So? What is it to you?" he snarled. Mu just sighed.

"I just wanted to let you know, not everyone will have the beliefs about Coordinators that you have, and that includes the doctor. Anyway, what's going on here, doc?" _Other than the little fight that occurred here…_ Mu did not add the last part, for he knew that the other Natural would be upset about it.

"Well, other than Mr. Itsuno's little out-burst, I was explaining to them that, Mr. Dante, Mr. Yamato and Mr. Itsuno's son will be alright." Hunnicutt replied.

"Well, that is good news." Mu exclaimed. "They all took a tremendous pounding out there, not to mention the near-crash landing both Chris and Kira went through. Nisha was saved by a new machine apparently."

"What sort of machine?" Miri asked.

Mu had a thoughtful look on his face as he glanced at her. "The new machine is a Gundam as well, but completely different in armor composition. Other than that, we know nothing about the machine or its pilot, Heero Yuy as he calls himself."

Everyone was silent before Mirillia spoke up again.

"Hey, Liz?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"The last thing I heard from Chris was a name he shouted. Does he know anyone named Zane?"

Liz's eyes went wide with shock. "Wh...What did you say?"

"He said the name Zane."

"That's impossible." Liz said. "Zane was his best friend at Junius Seven. But he's dead. Killed in the Bloody Valentine."

"But couldn't he have survived like you too did and become a ZAFT pilot?" Sai asked.

Liz shook. "No. He was a total pacifist. He hated it when Chris fought to protect him from bullies. Zane would never step into a mobile suit, no matter what the situation."

* * *

"We landed _way_ off course." Mu said as he looked at the charted landing site.

"Well, we could not lose any of the machines." Captain Ramius explained. "But right now, Heero Yuy has my attention."

"I saw that kid's machine, and I must say, it's damn impressive alright." Mu said with an admiring tone in his voice. "What has my attention though is that it did not power down."

"It is powered down, or so he says. According to the chief engineer though, there are no power readings from it. So it is powered down. But what it is made out of is _really_ interesting. Its armor is four times as hard as the Phase Shift, but it does not require any power to run it." Captain Ramius mused.

"Does he have a name for it?" Ensign Badgiruel asked.

"Gundanium." Captain Ramius replied. "That is why he calls it a Gundam."

"Okay then. The big questions are where he is from, and if he is a Coordinator or a Natural." Mu said.

"Well, that is where it is confusing. His reaction times are higher than even Kira's, yet he has no DNA markers to increase his abilities, and he had too many scars from broken bones, yet his skeletal structure seems to be harder than a normal human's. So we are not sure if he is either." Captain Ramius noted.

"How is that possible?" Badgiruel asked.

"He did say he was trained from birth to be a soldier." Mu replied. "As to where he is from, that…I have a feeling you would not believe, so there is no point in telling you right now. Besides, we are not sure if we believe it ourselves."

As the three were talking, Heero sat in Wing Zero's cockpit looking at one of the screens. "Damage appears to be minimal, which is good. It means fewer repairs." Heero noted as a data sheet shot up onto the screen. "I know, Zero, but Relena wanted to marry me against my will, and I need to stay dead in her mind. And we need to repair you. So, shall we begin?"

* * *

_Vesalius…_

Athrun stood in the pilot's lounge, his eyes on the Mobile Suit hanger. His thoughts had drifted towards Kira. He was torn now. He and the other boy had once been best friends, yet now they were enemies it seemed.

"There you are." Nicol said as he and Saul entered the hanger. "I have been looking everywhere for you."

Athrun faced the two of them.

"Yzak, Dearka, and Akira have landed safely on Earth." Nicol reported.

"As did that lunatic Scicorro." Saul added.

"They're all at the Gibraltar Base now. We don't know when they are supposed to return though."

"Is Yzak's wound still bothering him?" Athrun asked, concerned for the other boy.

"I doubt it, Athrun. A guy like Yzak would keep on fighting, no matter what type of wound her has." Nicol replied. "Hell, I bet he is demanding to get resupplied and sent out to hunt down the legged ship right now!"

Athrun chuckled at the mental sight of that. "Yeah, that does sound like something Yzak would do." He said. "So, what are our orders now?"

Saul shrugged. "Don't really know. We are heading back to the PLANTs, though. Something about a new operation. I _do_ know that we _are_ getting some R and R after this though, that's for sure!"

* * *

_The next day…_

Captain Ramius walked into the bridge and took her seat. "What's the news about Heero Yuy?"

"He never reported to the assigned quarters we gave him." Ensign Badgiruel replied. "He was repairing his machine all night."

"_All_ night?" Captan Ramius asked in shock.

"Yes, and he has not eaten either." Badgiruel said as she pulled up a video of Heero working on rearming the shoulder Gatling guns single-handedly, as well as repairing any scratches and cuts on his machine.

_'That boy is a machine.'_ Captain Ramius thought as she watched the video.

Heero went over the checklist one more time before he sighed. "Checking is complete. I know, Zero. I know I need sleep." He said as he leaned the chair back, making it go flat while Zero closed the door with a click. Heero then closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

* * *

_Hours later_

_Archangel…_

Chris opened his eyes slowly. As his blurred vision came into focus slowly, he could see something perched on his head.

"Birdie."

"GGGYYAAAAHHHH!" Chris screamed, startling Birdie from its forehead perch. "KIRA!"

The robot landed on Kira's shoulder. The boy was sitting upright in his bed and laughing at the sight. "Why does that thing like to sit on my head all the time?"

Nisha also laughed. Like Kira, he was sitting up in bed.

"Come on, Birdie is just trying to be friendly." Kira replied.

"No, 'it's trying to make a nest' is more like it…" Chris grumbled from his bed.

Kira just laughed again. "It's just a robot pet. It has no idea on how to make a nest."

"If I wake up with twigs in my hair the next time it does that, I'm dismantling it!"

Nisha could not help burst out laughing at the comment. "_That_ would be a sight to see!" he chuckled.

The door then opened and Flay entered the room. She was carrying a tray of food and several glasses of water. "Chris, I see you woke up." She exclaimed, setting the tray down near the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel like I went through an out of control plane landing and then a volcano…" Chris grunted. "What happened out there?"

"What do you remember last?" Kira asked.

"_NO! Don't! That's a civilian shuttle!" Chris shouted. "There are only innocent civilians on board!"_

"_Innocent? There is no such thing as innocence amongst the human race!" Zane shouted back. "It's time you learned that!"_

_Zane fired his railgun. The round tore through the shuttle, like a knife through paper. The shuttle exploded, killing all on board. "NOOOOOO!" Chris screamed._

"The shuttle being destroyed." Chris bitterly said. "Fighting Z-the GINN. And that's about it."

"Well, the GINN activated its ballute and escaped when the gravity was getting too much." Kira explained. "Then you passed out. I tried to pull you back to the Archangel but the Strike's thrusters weren't enough. Then the Archangel pulled itself under us and landed us on the ship. Then I passed out as well."

"Well, it looks like I owe you one, Kira." Chris exclaimed.

"Don't mention it."

"No, I _always_ find a way to pay back my debts."

Chris then coughed a hoarse cough. It felt like he had not had anything to drink in weeks, and his throat was bone dry.

"Here, Chris. Have some water." Flay said as she handed him a glass.

Chris sat up and grabbed the glass immediately. He downed the whole thing in one gulp. "Thank you."

Flay then handed Kira his food tray and drink, Nisha getting his last. "I'll go and get you something to eat, if you want." She said as she stood up to leave for the exit.

"I would like that, yes." Chris replied. Flay smiled somewhat, still unsure if trusting Coordinators was right. Yet, these three had done so much for the _Archangel_, so she decided to give them a chance. Then, she left.

Chris sighed. "Kira, Nisha, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

"What?"

"That red GINN that destroyed the shuttle was piloted by my best friend."

"What?" Kira gasped in shock at those words.

"Hah?!" Nisha's eyes widened at the very mention of that information. "But…But how? Didn't he die? And what happened to him?"

Chris shook his head. "I guess not. Plus, a year ago, he was a total pacifist. He hated violence in all its forms. Even when I defended him from guys that wanted to beat him up, he hated it. He also believed that no Coordinator was better than a Natural and vice versa. But now...He's become a monster."

"I'm sorry." Kira said.

"I…did not know…" Nisha replied in a soft voice.

Chris hung his head. "I'm sorry to lay this all on you. I know you have your own things to deal with. The pilot of the Aegis is your friend. And Nisha's cousin betrayed us."

"You know about Athrun?" Kira blurted in surprise.

The other boy nodded. "I know that the two of you were friends from before the war started. And that's about it."

"…" Nisha was silent as he listened in. In his mind, he replayed everything that had happened up to today. He really wanted to know what Akira was thinking, but alas, he couldn't. '_If I only knew what those guys did to her…_' he thought. '_Then maybe I would be able to understand you a bit better, Aki'…_'

Kira looked down at the bed sheets, his purple eyes filled with regret and reflection. "It's true. Athrun and I went to the same lunar prep school. We both left before the war started. Athrun returned to the PLANTs, I went to Heliopolis."

"You know something. This whole war is messed up. A boy that hated violence becomes a cold-blooded monster. Two pairs of friends and a pair of family members end up fighting on opposing sides. And for what? A pointless war that's brought pain and misery to everyone." Chris sighed and shook his head. "This whole thing is FUBAR."

"What are you going to do?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to stop him...one way or another." Chris said bitterly. "All I ask is that you two avoid fighting that red GINN if we ever encounter them again. Unless you have no other choice. I'll do the same with the Aegis and the Wing."

* * *

Liz entered the medical bay a half hour later. "Hey guys, we got a new machine on our side." She said as everyone looked at her.

"What?" Chris asked.

Liz pointed at Nisha. "The machine's pilot saved Nisha from being lost to us." She explained.

"Really? Is that why I was rescued?" Nisha asked.

Liz nodded and grinned. "Yep. The pilot submitted a blood sample to determine if he is a Natural or a Coordinator, and he is a Natural."

"Wait, hold on…A _Natural_ saved Nisha while _piloting_ a mobile suit?!" Chris asked in amazement.

His sister just shrugged. "As far as I know." She replied.

Chris was silent as were the other two; all of them were contemplating the news Liz had just told them…

* * *

_That night…_

"So, that is the new ship of the Earth Forces…" a woman said as she held binoculars and a coffee mug in hand. "What is it called again? The 'Red Angel'?"

"No, that is the not the name. This one is called the _Archangel_." A blonde-haired girl replied.

The woman just chuckled at the name. "That's funny, considering how that ship has been an Angel of Doom for the Earth Forces. Think about it. Heliopolis, Artemis Base, Admiral Halberton and the 8th Fleet. They all fell after coming into contact with that ship, while the ship itself escapes." She replied. "Believe it or not, the fact that the ship survived all of those encounters is a testament to the crew, the Mobile Suits, and the ship itself. They are what we need to push the Desert Tiger, or Waltfeld, out of the area."

Sahib Ashman, the rebel leader nodded. But he had one question. "How do you know that they will even help us, Victor?"

Victor sipped his coffee. "Very good…the perfect blend too…" he replied before answering the question. "They are just as desperate as we are. They are in the middle of enemy territory, they do not know of the recent events here on Earth, and they are in the Tiger's very own sector. They will have no choice but to call on us...especially with the 'Maverick Fleet' out there…"

"Chief!" a rebel shouted. "We have received word! The Tiger's just left the _Lesseps_ with five BuCUEs! He is on course for that ship!"

"Should we help?" another rebel asked.

"No, not yet…" Victor answered. "We need to know their strength first. If they fall here, then they aren't the ones to help us defeat the Tiger anyway…"

_'But if they _do_ survive this encounter, then they _are_ the ones to help us end this war…'_ Victor added mentally.

* * *

_Lesseps…_

Field Marshal Andrew Waltfeld looked out at the sand rushing past the ship as his crew returned from a series of military exercises. He smiled as his lover, Aisha Marlene, walked up beside him. "Quite a sight to see, eh?" he asked her.

"Yes, it is. Often times we never get to see such a sight up in the PLANTs." She replied.

Waltfeld glanced back at the scene outside the window. "I hear that the legged ship has arrived here on Earth with a new addition."

"Yes, they did. But we know nothing about the new machine, not even what it looks like or its pilot, for that matter."

Andy then laughed. "Well, it will be interesting to see what it can do then. Especially since the 'Maverick Fleet' is here on Earth now as well."

"Ah! You mean…?"

"Yep. I mean them alright. Besides, if anyone has the best ace in ZAFT, it is the 7th Fleet, and she is not known as the 'Lightning Goddess' for nothing."

Aisha laughed as she remembered the younger woman. "If anyone is capable of fighting the new machine, it is her."

* * *

_Archangel…_

"Ma'am! I'm detecting lasers locking onto us! We're being targeted!"

"Take us to level one battle stations! We need to come out of this alive!" Badgiruel ordered.

Outside the bridge, Heero was heading to the hanger to get ready to launch. He knew that helping out the ship was the only way he could repay them for allowing him to rearm and repair his machine. And it was what Relena would want…

* * *

_Hanger…_

Nisha, Chris, and Kira quickly climbed into their machines while Mu waited for Murdoch, Taikyu, and the hanger crews to get one of the three Skygraspers the 8th Fleet had given them online. Nearby was the machine that had saved Nisha, the one called Wing Zero. Its pilot was already in the cockpit, ready to launch.

"Why haven't we been ordered to launch yet?" Kira wondered.

_"We do not know the full strength of the enemy yet, and the Mobile Suits are not designed for this type of terrain."_ Badgiruel replied.

"The Raven's mobile armor won't be affected by the desert terrain. I can launch and deal with the enemy. And if things get too hairy, Kira and Nisha can launch and back me up." Chris said. "But I'm not sure about the new machine…"

_"Very well."_ Murrue said. _"Launch the Raven."_

The Raven was quickly loaded onto the catapult. "Raven Gundam launching." Chris said before the catapult activated, launching the mobile suit into the air.

Chris immediately transformed the Raven into its mobile armor mode. He flew towards the helicopter, firing his machineguns at them. He shot down one while the other two fled. "You attack us and think that you just get away. I don't think so."

* * *

"They've deployed the Raven." Martin said.

"As expected." Andrew said. "Spring the trap. Let's see how well it fights when it's grounded."

* * *

Suddenly, from behind a sand dune, a pair of BuCUEs equipped with missile launchers, fired a barrage of missiles at the Raven. "Damn it." Chris swore as he dodged most of the missiles.

But some hit their target, sending the Raven crashing into the ground. Chris transformed it back to its mobile suit mode. However, Chris found the feet of his machine sinking into the ground.

"Damn it. This sand's too loose. I can't get a decent footing. I need to get back into the air."

Chris activated the Raven's thrusters, launching the mobile suit into air. Only to have another barrage hit him, sending the machine back to the ground. The two BuCUEs emerged from their hiding place, circling the Raven. The first one lunged at him. But Chris used his thrusters to leap out of the way. However, the second BuCUE anticipated this and slammed into the moment he land. "Gah..._Archangel,_ launch the Strike and Z.A.M. Gundam. I need some cover fire, so I can get back in the air."

_"Roger. Launching the Strike and Z.A.M. Gundams now."_ Miriallia said.

"Tell them to watch out. Moving in this sand is a pain in the ass."

The Strike armed with the Launcher Striker, was launched from the Archangel, the Z.A.M. Gundam right behind it. They landed on a dune overlooking the Raven and the BuCUEs. The second the Strike's feet touched the sand, it sank, but the Z.A.M. Gundam was faster in sinking.

_"Whoa..."_

_"WHAT?!"_ Nisha was surprised by the sheer speed in which his machine sank into the sand. "_This is not cool, man!_"

Chris couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "I told you the sand was nightmare."

The helicopters returned, firing on the two machines. Some missiles slammed into the Strike while the others hit the shield of the Z.A.M. Gundam.

"They've deployed X-105 and X-117-A." Martin said.

"Deploy the remaining BuCUEs. I want to see their capabilities." Andrew said.

* * *

Five more BuCUEs emerged, four with railguns and one with a missile pod, firing on the Strike and Z.A.M. Gundam. The impacts of the weapons forced the two machines down the dune, towards the Raven. Kira fired back with the Agni cannon. But the BuCUEs were too fast for him.

_"Those machines may be strong in space, but here on Earth BuCUEs rule!"_ a BuCUE pilot shouted.

Meanwhile, Chris wasn't having much luck either. The two BuCUEs hounding him were too fast for him to hit them either. "Damn it." Chris cursed as a BuCUE dodged the rounds from his railgun. "Kira, Nisha, if either of you got any ideas, now would be the time."

_"Cover me for moment."_ Kira said, as he pulled out the keyboard and started typing.

The Raven leapt into the air, landing besides the Strike and Z.A.M. Gundam. Chris fired on BuCUEs, not trying to hit them, but trying to keep them on the move and not firing at them. A barrage of missiles streaked towards the three. Chris fired his railgun at the missiles. The rounds hit some of the missiles, setting them off. The explosions took out the rest. The Z.A.M. Gundam also fired on the missiles, its shoulder cannons causing them to explode in mid-flight.

Suddenly, the Strike got up, now standing on top of the sand, and fired, taking out a BuCUE's missile pod. Another BuCUE tried to tackle the Strike. The Strike spun and slammed its cannon into the BuCUE, sending it flying. The first BuCUE tried to tackle the Strike from behind. But Kira was faster, driving the Strike's elbow into it, knocking it onto its back. Kira fired the Agni, destroying it.

Chris suddenly realized what Kira had done. He had adjusted the OS to the desert terrain. "Why didn't I think of that?" he said to himself. "Kira, you cover me while I adjust my OS."

_"Right."_

Chris pulled out the keyboard and started adjusting the OS. He wasn't as fast as Kira, but he still managed to adjust it pretty quickly. "I'm good." he said, the Raven taking its first solid step on the sand. "Let's see how you like me now."

_"Chris, can you cover me while I do the same with my own OS?"_ Nisha asked over the com-line.

"Sure."

A barrage of missiles flew towards the Raven. The Raven leapt up, avoiding the missiles and transformed into its mobile armor mode. "The BuCUEs may rule on Earth, but the Raven rules the skies!" Chris shouted as the Raven's Ahura Mazda energy weapons activated.

The BuCUE was fast, the Raven was faster. The energy 'claws' across the BuCUE's back. A moment later, it exploded.

_"I'm good now."_ Nisha replied as the Z.A.M. Gundam also stood up on the sand.

Though they had finally countered the BuCUEs, all three machines had used up a great deal of battery power and Chris had used up much of the Raven's railgun ammo. And there were fifteen BuCUEs and five copters left.

"_Archangel_, we need back-up! We don't have enough power to take out the remaining units!" Chris called over the radio.

_"Wing Zero has launched on its own!"_ Miri exclaimed over the radio.

Sure enough, the new machine was overhead, its form similar to the Raven's mobile armor form, yet different as well.

"That was fast…"

* * *

"The new machine has launched!" DeCosta shouted as he saw the new radar contact.

"Get the 7th Fleet out there. I want to see what the new machine is capable of." Waltfeld ordered.

* * *

_7th Fleet ships…_

Araiya sat in her machine as the other pilots of the 7th Fleet prepared to head out. _"All pilots, we are engaging the legged ship and its machines. There will be no holding back, under any circumstances. Tao, you will remain behind as your machine is not made for desert combat. Is that clear?"_ Commander White asked.

"Yes sir!" all the pilots exclaimed.

In a roar of engines, the Wing, the Zeus, the Silent Sniper, and the Feral Femme all launched from the three ships.

On her monitors, Araiya saw the form of the new mobile suit, now designated Omega One in her mind. "I see he doesn't waste any time…" she mused as Omega One flew down low, a green beam saber out. "I like you already."

"Akira, you and Josh will cover me and Heidi from the dunes while we go in for close combat." She ordered.

_"Yes ma'am."_ The two boys said as they dropped in altitude and landed amongst the sand dunes. She and Heidi continued on a direct path towards Omega One in the exact same instance.

Araiya then saw the machine raise up its rifle into a firing position. The new mobile suit aimed and fired, a golden beam of immense power blazing right between her and Heidi with a few inches to spare. Both female pilots pulled back on their controls, barely missing the end of the beam.

"Heidi, you ok?" the purple-haired pilot asked.

_"Thrusters are singed, but they are functional. That was not some mere low-power blast…"_ the other pilot replied.

"Agreed. It was way too powerful to be of any conventional beam weaponry origin."

_"Are you going to get him to close range?"_ Heidi asked.

Araiya smirked. "I wouldn't be out here if I couldn't." she replied.

* * *

For a pilot of Heero's caliber, fighting four machines was not a daunting position. But when it was against four highly skilled pilots, it would not be easy. If he were in a normal machine that is…and Wing Zero was far from the normal mobile suit. He closed his eyes, immersing himself in the Zero System.

By expanding the consciousness of the pilot, the Zero System fed the operator enormous amounts of data, which included any and every tactical and strategic possibilities for any given situation. Under the system though, anything and anyone was considered a target, which was why it was such a double edged sword. It was up to the pilot to give the system guidance, to nudge it towards a desired course of action in order to achieve his goals. It was essentially a balancing act between logic and emotion, with the pilot imposing a conscience on the ruthlessly efficient program. However, this required a degree of mental discipline that was practically inhuman, and anyone without it who tried to use the system could become a mass-murdering psychopath, a victim of sheer sensory overload. Only a _very _few people had achieved that degree of mastery over the system, to the point that they were granted a kind of short-term precognition, an ability to read an enemy's moves before they made them; future sight.

And he was among the very best of that elite group.

Opening his eyes, Heero swiftly blocked a blast from the grey machine that the Zero System had identified as a GINN thanks to hacking into the database of the ship he had been on earlier. The machine then pulled out a sword as it put away the rifle.

"Very skilled…but not skilled enough…" he muttered as he pulled out the green beam saber and ignited the blade. As the two clashed swords, Heero used Wing Zero's sheer power to push back the GINN before parrying an attack from the second GINN, which had arm-mounted knives out. Both of the shorter blades made contact with the green blade before an attempted swipe with a leg-mounted knife made Heero move back. Hitting the thrusters, Heero gained altitude, dodging incoming beam fire from the third GINN and a machine that looked like it could transform into a fighter craft of some kind. A volley of missiles was launched from the winged machine, only to be shot down by Wing Zero's shoulder Gatlings.

Whirling around, Heero then parried a blow from the first GINN, only to block a strike from the second GINN on his shield a second later. The other two machines circled around them, firing bursts from their rifles, but Heero managed to sidestep the speeding rounds and beams. Gaining some distance, he then fired several low-powered shots from the Twin Buster rifle, only for the shots to miss. The shots did force his opponents to take evasive moves, which gave him some breathing room.

Heero then charged the lead GINN, certain that it was the top pilot of this team. The machine parried skillfully, making Heero break off quickly in order to block an attack from the second GINN, which was made for close combat. Diving towards the dunes to avoid another beam and burst barrage from the other two units, he raised the Buster Rifle and fired another shot, gaining altitude and moving in with the beam saber once again.

* * *

"The proper timing and application of force is the true way to win a battle, Waltfeld. Even a pinprick can be fatal if aimed correctly."

* * *

Suddenly, a trio of shots rang out. Two copters and a railgun barrel of a BuCUE exploded. A gray GINN High Maneuver type, covered in a tan tarp, armed with a sniper rifle, was lying on a sand dune a fair distance away. The GINN rose to its feet, its crimson monoeye scanning across the battlefield.

* * *

"Amazing. To be able to hit three separate targets so quickly and from that far away. That's one amazing sniper." Martin DeCosta said.

"Yes. That's the best sniper I've seen since...Well, in quite a while." Waltfeld said to his subordinate.

* * *

Commander Wolfe was in awe of the enemy machine, Omega One. Never before had she seen anyone move so quickly, or with such precision and grace. Omega One's attacks, dodges, and blocks al seemed to flow together, with no hesitation on the pilot's part, and there was no second-guessing either.

She saw the machine whirl around, firing off a barrage of bullets that hit Josh's machine in the left side. Akira moved in with his beam saber to take some of the heat off of him as Araiya went to support him as Omega One once more blocked his blow and pushed him back.

"Josh, status!" Araiya shouted as she traded blows with the enemy machine.

_"Sniper rifle destroyed, so I can't fire on the enemy from long range; right thrusters are down, so I can't stay airborne for long, and maneuverability is down by forty-eight percent."_ The white-haired boy replied.

"Withdraw then. I can't risk losing anyone of my teammates." The commander ordered as she dodged a burst of gatling fire herself. "If you try to keep fighting this guy in that shape, you'll die for sure."

_"Yes, ma'am."_ Josh replied. He was upset about leaving his teammates to fight on without him, but he had no choice in this case. _"I'm heading back to the _Andrews_ for repairs. I should be able to make it solo, but the landing may be a bit rough for me to handle."_

Relieved that Josh was going to make it back alright, Araiya quickly moved in to take out the enemy. As the blades met, she could not help but smile.

_'I can't recall _anyone_, let alone one mobile suit, who forced one of our teammates to retreat, let alone fight us four-to-one on an even footing. Not even the 11th Fleet's best pilots could get us to this point.'_

"Finally…" she mused as she blocked a strike from Omega One before the enemy machine parried a blow from Heidi. "Someone who can push me to my limit!"

_"Damn it,"_ said Heidi over Ariaya's radio as Omega One managed to cut her unit's left leg off. Things would have been worse had the commander not moved in to take the heat off the blonde girl.

"How much has your mobility been cut?" said Araiya as she traded blows with the enemy.

_"Thirteen percent,"_ said Heidi, "_It's not too bad, but the uneven weight distribution and unequal thruster output on both sides is throwing my balance off."_

"Get out of here then," Araiya ordered, "that small difference will mean your death in a fight like this!"

_"Yes, ma'am."_ Heidi replied, clearly clenching her teeth at the thought of withdrawing from a battle.

As her comrade made her retreat, Araiya turned to Omega One and once again smiled as their blades met yet again.

_'To be honest, as long as they're not dead I'm perfectly fine with them leaving the field.'_

"Now I can fight you one-on-one!" she said, adrenaline surging through her.

The first rays of sunlight began peaking over the dunes as the two aces continued their spectacular clash.

But before they could collide once more, Araiya's machine let out a bleep, signaling low power.

"Damn…have to withdraw…" she muttered as she backed off from the enemy machine.

_'But to think that such a pilot exists…I can't wait to meet you again…Omega One…'_

* * *

Heero noted the movements of the other machines, which were heading towards a location with jeeps nearby.

"Interesting…if they have a trap waiting there, that could be a useful distraction…" he mused as he flew over to help out.

* * *

Suddenly, a band of rebel vehicles emerged from several sand dunes, firing missiles at the BuCUEs. Their weapons were inferior to the weapons of the BuCUEs. But they were major distraction to the mobile suits.

One jeep parked next to the Strike and fired a cable to the Strike's leg. "_Pilot of the Earth Forces mobile suits, if you want to live, follow my instructions."_ a voice said over the comm. _"We've set a trap at this location. Lure the BuCUEs there."_

Seeing no other option, Kira, Nisha, and Chris headed for the location, with the rebel jeeps close behind. The location in question was near the GINN. The BuCUEs chased after the 'fleeing' forces. The Strike, the Z.A.M. Gundam, and the BuCUEs reached the spot. The Raven swooped down and grabbed the Strike with its claws and flew off. Wing Zero then flew down and grabbed the Z.A.M. Gundam before taking off as well.

And with that, the trap was sprung. A massive explosion consumed the BuCUEs in an instant.

"We're withdrawing." Andrew said. "We've achieved our immediate goal."

* * *

The warriors of Desert Dawn were now gathered in front of the Archangel, the Z.A.M. Gundam, Wing Zero, the Strike and the Raven. Kira, Nisha, Wing Zero's pilot, and Chris remained in their machines, just in case. The GINN's pilot had left his cockpit and was with the rest of his comrades.

"I would like to extend my gratitude to you for your help." Murrue said.

"I am Sahib Ashman. The leader of the Desert Dawn." Sahib said. "There is no need to thank us. Our reasons for fighting were not necessarily to save you. They happened to be our enemy as well."

"You guys against the Desert Tiger?" Mu said.

"I recognize your face. But I cannot say where."

"That's Mu La Flaga. The Hawk of Endymion." a man in a dark trenchcoat, with short black hair and gray eyes, said.

The man extended his hand to Mu. "Victor Cain. Formerly of ZAFT's 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet. Now a merc working for the Desert Dawn."

Mu shook the man's hand. "One of Alaric's guys, eh? I thought I recognized that type of GINN." Mu said.

"Aye. Until he was killed. Though I respect Miss Kessel, the Black Hawk is and always will be my true commander." Victor explained. "When he was killed, I took my GINN and left. Been fighting as a mercenary ever since."

"You strike me as well informed people. Do you know who we are?"

"You are the crew of the Archangel, the Earth Forces new warship. You came to Earth to escape Le Creuset's Team and the 7th Fleet. Those machines of yours are..."

"X-105 Strike, the X-117-A and X-305 Raven." the blond girl said. "But I don't know the last machine."

"So here we are. You know who we are and we know who you are…Though I am surprised that you are here. I assume that you landing here was an accident. So I'm curious to know what you plan to do next."

"Can we count on your complete cooperation?"

"If you're serious about talking, then you such lower your weapons."

"They should disarm as well."

"Very well." Murrue said. "Ensign Yamato, Ensign Itsuno, Ensign Dante, Mr. Yuy, come down here."

The three Coordinators exited their mobile suits and headed for the group while Heero took the time to lock down Wing Zero before he too exited his machine.

Kira took off his helmet first, surprising the Desert Dawn members that someone so young could be the pilot of such a powerful mobile suit. The girl suddenly took off, heading for Kira. "So it is you." the girl said, clearly angry. "What is someone like you doing in that thing?"

She tried to punch him, but Kira caught her fist. "Let go of me!" she shouted, trying to break free of his grip.

She broke free of his grip, hitting Kira in the process. "Whoa. Calm down." Chris said, approaching the two, taking off his helmet. "Hey, wait a minute. You're that tomboy we thought was a girl."

"You too!" the girl said, turning to him.

Her fist slammed into his jaw.

"Ow...Damn. You hit as hard as my sister." Chris said, rubbing his jaw. Nisha just sighed at the encounter.

The blue-eyed pilot beside him remained silent as he observed the encounter with cold, yet observant eyes.

* * *

_Desert Dawn Main Base_

_A Few Hours Later_

"This is our frontline base. Our homes are in the towns, if they haven't been burned to the ground. Tassil, Moula, and even as far as Banadiya. Our group is all volunteers, expect for Mr. Cain, who's a merc we found and hired." Sahib said, pouring a cup of coffee. "Coffee?"

Victor took a sip of coffee and immediately spat it out on the ground. "Okay...Who made this swill?" Victor said in annoyance. "If you can't make a decent cup of coffee, than don't even bother making it."

Victor immediately poured the pot of coffee on the ground and started making a fresh pot.

Sahib shook his head. "You'll have to forgive Mr. Cain. He's an excellent strategist and easily the best marksmen alive. But he has an _eccentric_ love of coffee."

"Hey there's nothing with wanting a good cup of coffee in the morning."

"You average a dozen cups a day."

"Okay...There's nothing with wanting a good cup of coffee in the morning, afternoon and evening."

Sahib sighed and shook his again. He walked over to the table in the center of the command room.

"So what's her name?" Mu said, motioning to the blond girl.

"We call her the Goddess of Victory."

"And I call the Overemotional Goddess." Victor said.

The blond let out an annoyed growl and threw an empty coffee cup at him. In a single, rapid motion, he drew his handgun and shot the cup in midair. He twirled the gun on his finger and holstered it. "See." Victor said. "Overemotional."

The girl scowled and left the room.

"Impressive." Mu said.

"I told you, he's the best marksman alive." Sahib said.

"But what's her name?"

"Cagalli Yula." Victor said.

"While this area may be under the domination of ZAFT, but it's not like they have enough forces can control the entire desert. Yet only three days ago ZAFT conquered the Victoria Base. Since then, they've extended their control over the area."

"A shame about that." Victor said. "They ruin a rather nice contract I had with the Earth Forces."

"Oh?" Mu said.

"Yeah. I was supposed to report to the Victoria Base. They were gonna send me to the 8th Fleet. I would have been there when they linked up with you guys. Probably would have assigned me to the Archangel. But they attacked before I could get there. Had they waited a day, I would have made it. But ZAFT had other plans and I ended up joining these folks."

"The African community of this area has traditionally sided with the PLANTs. The lower region, the South African Union resisted as best they could. But in the end, half the Earth Forces still abandoned them anyway." Sahib said with a sigh. "Every day, the frontlines are being pushed back, farther and farther."

"But that hasn't stopped you guys, now has it?" Mu said.

Sahib took a long hard stare at him. "As we see, ZAFT and the Earth Forces are no different. They both come to gain control and take away what is ours."

"But what about NASA? Haven't they been able to help you out?" Mu asked.

Sahib sighed. "Even if NASA were to help us out, there is no way that we could trust them. ZAFT and Earth Forces propaganda claims NASA just wants to conquer the lands they supposedly 'liberate'."

Mu frowned but did not say anything else.

"How well does that ship of yours fare in Earth atmosphere?" Victor asked, pouring a cup of coffee. "Anyone else want some coffee?"

Murrue and Natarle both declined. Mu took a cup.

"It can't fly at high altitudes." Natarle replied.

"If it can't fly over a mountain range, then your option is to try to break through the Gibraltar Base."

"Which is suicide with your battle strength." Victor said, sipping coffee. "But there is another path. But it's potentially as dangerous as Gibraltar."

"What would that be?" Murrue asked.

"You could take the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and then to the Pacific. But there are two obstacles in your path."

"That would be?"

"The Desert Tiger and the 7th Fleet."

* * *

_The Archangel's Hanger_

_Later That Night_

_'I have to get stronger. If I don't, this ship is finished.'_ Kira thought as he furiously typed away in the Strike's cockpit.

"I've seen that look before. You're thinking that you're the only one who can protect this ship and everyone on board."

Kira glanced around the monitor. Standing there was that mercenary. "Hi there. I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm Victor Cain. Coffee?"

"Ah...Sure. I'm Kira Yamato."

Victor handed him a mug and two silently drank for a minute. "You know it will only get worse." Victor said.

"What?"

"If you spend all your time working on this thing and fighting, you're only burn yourself out." Victor said. "When that happens, all that with remain of you is a burnt out shell. And then you'll be useless to anyone."

"But I-"

"But you're the only one that can protect the ship. Stop being so arrogant kid. Everybody on board this ship is fighting to protect it. Not just you." Victor said. "No true defense can rest on the shoulder of one man."

"Now I'm not saying that spending some extra time on the Strike is wrong. But sending every waking moment in this cockpit will destroy you and likely get yourself killed. Take that other pilot, Chris. I noticed him spending a fair amount of time with that red headed girl, teaching her martial arts. And right now, he's having dinner with the rest of you kids. And the third pilot, Nisha? I saw him with Chris's sister. Mr. Yuy, however, well…I'm not too sure about him." Victor said. "Go, have some dinner with them. Don't make me pull you out of there and lock down the Strike."

Seeing as he had no other choice, Kira got out of the cockpit and headed outside. As soon as he was out of the hanger, Victor got into the cockpit of the Strike

"Let's see just how good this machine is." he said, pulling out the computer monitor.

* * *

_Outside Tassil_

"The whole town is asleep sir." DeCosta said.

"There are some who would put them to sleep permanently. There are those who like that approach. Not me. We'll give them a warning first then attack fifteen minutes later." Commander Waltfeld said. "Well, go on. Warn them."

"Sir." Martin said, getting into another jeep.

The jeep sped off for the town.

* * *

_Eighteen Minutes Later_

The kids from Heliopolis were all gathered around one of the many campfires in the rebel base, eating and taking amongst themselves.

"Things were certainly taken a strange turn." Sai said. "Who would have thought that we would end up in a rebel camp of all places."

"It's better than being alone the desert with only ZAFT Forces for company." Liz said.

"True. But it's still pretty strange."

"Well, strange things happen. It reminds me of the story of grandfather's dogtags." Chris said, pulling out said dogtags from underneath his collar. "My grandfather was-"

"The sky! It's burning!" someone shouted.

"It's coming from Tassil!" another shouted.

Heero looked up at the cry, his blue eyes narrowing at the sight. "So…someone is burning the town…" he noted as he ran over to the burning village.

* * *

_"Whether from a far or up close, they shall never see me coming until it is too late." _Victor Cain  
Mobile Suit Serial Number: ZGMF-1017MX GINN High Maneuver Type Custom 'Talos'  
Unit Type: Customized high mobility mobile suit  
Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery  
Special Equipment: Lightwave pulse thrusters  
Armament: 1x JDP2-MMX22 experimental 27mm armor assault rifle with MA-M3 heavy sword bayonet, 2x beam saber (concealed in shoulders), 1x 76mm sniper rifle, additional weapons vary  
Pilot: Victor Cain  
Appearance: same as the GINN High Maneuver Type  
Color: Gray with dark gray trim  
Info: A mysterious GINN with an equally mysterious pilot. All that is known is that he was a member of the ZAFT's 11th Fleet until the death of the Black Hawk, John Alaric. Since then, he's been working as a mercenary, fighting for anyone willing to pay him.

A/N: Victor is used with Akatsuki_Leader13's permission.

* * *

The newcomer is revealed, and yes, it is Heero Yuy. I wanted him to be thrown in to mix things up. So, here he is. I do plan to have him paired up with someone, but only in SEED Destiny: Divisions, not now. Anyway, flames will be deleted and/or reported depending on if someone signed in or not. Constructive criticism is appreciated as well. Please read and review once done reading! ^^


	12. Phase 11: Fangs of the Enemy

Phase Eleven: Fangs of the Enemy

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: I will probably have that occur yes. :3 And I will have the fight scenes get better. Thanks for the input! :3 Heero came to the Cosmic Era to escape his old universe for a reason. What it is will be revealed slowly as time goes on, and it has to do with when the SEED and Wing universes clash. ;3**

**AXL999: Yes, I did delete the old story. I could not recover the story in time so it was lost. Sorry. :(**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are.**

**Anyway, please read and review!**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

_Outside Tassil…_

"Is it over with? Were there any casualties?" Waltfeld asked his returning subordinate.

"Why would there be? It's not like we were actually fighting anyone." Martian DeCosta asked.

"I meant on both sides."

"There may have been the odd person who took a tumble or were singed by the heat." Martian explained.

"Then let's get out of here. The men will be returning soon."

"Wasn't the whole point of this to ambush them as they return?"

"Come on. That's not exactly fair, now is it?" a genuinely surprised Andrew said. "We didn't burn down their homes just to ambush them."

"But still-"

"Our objective has achieved. We'll be returning now."

* * *

_Tassil…_

When the Desert Dawn, the Raven, the Talos, Wing Zero, and a group from the _Archangel_'s crew arrived, they found Tassil a blaze. But miraculously, not a single life was lost. However, the ruins of Tassil weren't the only fire raging. Chris was relieved. It would have been too easy for the ZAFT forces to simply burn this whole town to the ground, people and all. But it seems that their commander was a decent person.

"That dirty, mongrel dog! What's going through the maniac's mind?"

"He's trying to stop you attacking his men without killing your people." Victor said. "True, Tassil is gone. But its people are alive and that's ultimately all that matters."

Chris immediately decided not to get involved. This Cagalli girl was just too stubborn and difficult.

Next to him, Heero's eyes narrowed, the fire reflecting off his irises.

Victor turned to the blazing ruins of Tassil. "This was probably payback defeating the 'Lightning Goddess' and for helping out the _Archangel_ last night. All things considering, the Tiger was being generous. Doing something as minor as this."

"Minor? How can you call a town being burned to the ground minor?" Cagalli shouted at the mercenary.

"What you fail to understand, is that these guys are professional soldiers. If they wanted to, they could have killed everyone in the town as well. And most of the land based commanders on both sides of this war would not have given any warning at all."

"The Tiger's nothing but a lousy, stinking coward. He attacks our homes when we're not around and calls it a victory!" Cagalli ranted. "Every time we go out there, we fight with courage and honor! We even managed to take out their BuCUEs in the last battle! That's why that jerk commander can only strike back at us like a coward!"

"No. You're mistaken. He doesn't call this a victory. He calls this a merciful punishment." Victor said. "And what do you truly know of war and honor? Did you really expect him to sit back while his men are killed? No. Honor demands that he avenge them. And he did honorably and mercifully. Tell me Cagalli, what would you do if you were him?"

"I..."

"A group of rebels just ambushed and killed several soldiers under your command. You now have to write to their families that their loved ones are dead. And you don't know where the central base of these rebels is located. Meaning you can't attack them directly. So what would you do?"

"What Waltfeld did was the most honorable thing he could have done. He attacked a town supporting the rebels but warned the population beforehand, so they could escape. He could have easily wiped out this town and any other town that he believed was aiding us with ease."

Heero looked back at the mercenary, a subtly surprised look on his face. How was it that he knew war so well? Figuring that he had been a soldier for far longer than he himself had been, Heero figured that it was the most logical conclusion he could come to.

"The Tiger's still a coward!" Cagalli shouted, glaring at him.

Desert Dawn fighters and many of the people of Tassil shouted their own agreements and glaring at the mercenary. Victor shook his head. "Whatever. I'm being paid to fight, not prove how wrong you people are."

Beside him, Wing Zero's pilot grunted. "They'll get killed for sure. Such ideals will only lead to more deaths, no matter how good they are…"

Victor just glanced at the young man before cocking an eyebrow. What did this boy mean?

"Sahib." an approaching Desert Dawn member said.

"What is it?" the rebel leader asked.

"Come here for a sec."

The two men approached the gathering group of Desert Dawn fighters and jeeps.

"Well?" Sahib asked.

"It's only been a short time. Tiger couldn't have gotten far from the village. If we follow them now, we can catch up." one man said.

"Since they burned down the whole town, they should be out of ammo." another added.

"We can't just sit back after this attack! We're gonna take the Tiger down."

"Don't be foolish! Tend to the wounded. Take care of your families. That is more important." Sahib said to his men.

"What good does that do us? Our homes have been burned to the ground! And you want us to go cry with our wives and children!" shouted one rebel.

"Please. Listen to reason." Victor said, approaching the group. "No one has been lost today. But if you go after the Tiger with just these weapons and no planning, then your wives and children will be burying you."

"Coward!" one man shouted.

"It is not cowardice to avoid blindly chasing after an enemy." Victor said.

"What do you know? You're just a Zaftie!" another Desert Dawn fighter shouted.

"I'm not saying we let him get away with this. I'm saying that we should pause for a moment to plan things out rather than rush into something that will get us all killed."

"What are you talking about? You got your GINN! You could take out all of those BuCUEs!" another rebel shouted.

"My GINN is primarily designed for space combat, not ground warfare. With proper planning, yes, I could take out five BuCUEs." Victor said. "But as it stands, we'd be lucky to escape with our lives."

"The two of you may have resigned yourselves to being the Tiger's lapdogs, but we won't be!"

The men got on their jeeps and took off as Cagalli approached. "Well, what are we gonna do boss?"

Sahib sighed. "Pedoru!" he shouted to one of men sitting in one of the few remaining jeeps.

"Are you going too Sahib?" Cagalli asked.

"I just can't let them get themselves killed." he said, climbing into the jeep.

"I'm coming too." Cagalli said as she tried climbing into the jeep as well.

Sahib pushed her out. "No! You stay here Cagalli."

"Then let me get my GINN and join you." Victor said.

"No. You stay as well. If I don't come back, take command of the Desert Dawn."

"What? I'm a mercenary, not a rebel leader."

"You're the only other person with the skill and cool head to lead the Desert Dawn if something happens to me."

Victor sighed. "Fine. Just do us both a favor and don't get killed. You still have to pay me."

Sahib's jeep took off for the others. Kisaka and Ahmed pulled up next to Cagalli and Victor. "Come on Cagalli." Ahmed said.

Cagalli quickly climbed aboard jeep and the three took off for the others. "Well, this is a land where the wind and the people get very heated." Mu said as he and Badgiruel approached the mercenary.

"They'll be wiped out with those outdated weapons." Badgiruel said.

"It's always the most passionate that are the most heroic. And the most foolish." Victor said. "The question is, what are you going to do?"

"Don't you mean _us_?" Mu asked.

"No. I know what I'm doing. I'm going to ensure that I get paid." Victor said, heading for his GINN. "I suggest that you guys do that same. The _Archangel_ is safe where it is, but if Sahib dies, you may not be escaping the desert at all."

* * *

_Archangel…_

"They're what?" Murrue said.

"They want payback for Tassil. It doesn't matter to them that they're outgunned." Mu said. "Vic's heading out to make sure that they survive. But frankly, I doubt it'll make much difference."

"Then what do you recommend?"

"Send out the Strike and Z.A.M. Gundam to help them and we'll send out the Raven. Heero will no doubt follow in Wing Zero." Mu replied. "Who knows, we may get lucky and take out the Tiger as well."

"Very well. Send the Raven to help them. We'll send out the Strike and Z.A.M. Gundam."

"Tell Kira, I'll meet up with him." Chris said. "We can travel faster if I'm in mobile armor mode and Kira's riding atop the Raven."

* * *

_Aprilius One…_

Commander Le Creuset sat on the padded bench in the Supreme Council chamber, observing things with a bemused smirk. Beside Chairman Clyne stood, Patrick Zala and Hong Fa Wu, the chairman's political rival. The masked man chuckled to himself silently. Manipulating Wu was too easy…after all, the man _did_ hate the Naturals for what they did, as did Zala…

Defense Chairman Zala, unbeknownst to Creuset, looked at him out of the corner of his eye. The masked man did not notice the look of malice that the other man had in his gaze, and it as just as well. _'Soon, you snake…soon…'_

* * *

_7th Fleet…_

Josh flopped down onto one of the seats in the rec room, where Akira, Tao, and Heidi all sat, trying to make sense of the battle that had just occurred. The techs were going over their machines while Araiya and Commander White sent a battlefield report to both Field Commander Waltfeld and the ZAFT Defense Council, which was in Aprilius One.

"That guy was really good…and I mean _really_ good. Not many pilots can best us like that. Heh…I wonder what the 11th Fleet would do if they encountered Omega One." Josh mused as he picked up the latest issue of _Aces, the world over_. The magazine had an image of Omega One as well as the ten Alliance prototypes along the sides. It covered not only ZAFT pilots, but also Alliance, ORB, and NASA pilots as well.

Next to him, Tao was observing a battle that had been aired previously, trying to figure out new tactics to overcome the enemy. She was taking notes in a notebook, writing down figures and drawing out new plans as she did so. Despite her reputation though, she was drawn to past conflicts, and spent as much time as she could reading up on them. She was also a history buff.

Across from Josh, Heidi was watching the television. On the screen was a recorded debate between Hong Fa Wu and Chairman Clyne. Since the N-Jammers made long-range communications impossible, there was no way to air a live debate on Earth, so they were often recorded and then played back for the soldiers on Earth to observe. She was taking notes on her laptop, intently paying attention. Heidi was a sweet person outside of battle, but only her closest teammates knew if for sure. She was also interested in the politics of the PLANTs, so she was the one to go to for political updates.

_'That's Heidi for you…always wanting to learn what is new in the field of politics…'_ Josh thought as he flipped through the magazine he was reading.

Not too far from him was Akira. The other red coat was watching a show in a video website, not paying attention to what was going on around him. He had a frustrated look on his face, but Josh paid it no head.

"I'll give you that one. No pilot, not even the 11th Fleet's pilots, could make us react the way we did. No one could ever go up against all of us at once. That pilot was downright amazing." Heidi agreed.

"Not one of us has gotten knocked out of a fight since the Academy simulations." Tao added as she looked up.

Josh then burst out laughing. "The enemy was even able to solo Commander Wolfe! When's that ever happened?"

"Never, except for the Black Hawk of course, and even then it was not a real challenge." Heidi replied as she went back to the debate. "But, you gotta admit, she seemed really happy about going up against someone of her skill level."

Josh went back to reading the feature article, which was on Omega One. "That pilot, whoever it is, is really good. I can't wait to fight again."

Everyone was silent again before both Commanders re-entered the room. "Well, the report was sent, and well…let's just say that Commander Creuset is not too happy with this." Araiya sighed. "And Wu…he was not too thrilled either, which is not surprising given his hatred of Naturals… Zala on the other hand, I'm not too sure…"

Akira glanced over at her remark. "What are you saying?" he asked, golden eyes narrowing.

"Both are against ending this war peacefully." Commander White replied. "Zala is the defense chairman, and he represents a peaceful future, one without fear and war, to the people of the PLANTs. Yet he is not running. Hence why Wu is. And Creuset? He seems to have his own agenda, one that relies on Wu winning the elections."

"Any worst-case scenarios that you are thinking of should he win?" Heidi asked.

The Commander sighed, not wanting to make them all nervous. "At best, Wu is advocate of Coordinator supremacy. At worst, an advocate of genocide. The worst case that I can figure would occur…are the results of the Second World War…"

Every one of the pilots went silent at the revelation. If Commander White was right, then the _whole world_, not just the PLANTs, was in danger…

* * *

"Shouldn't we hurry it up a bit more sir?" Martin asked.

"What's the rush?" Waltfeld lazily said.

"At this speed, the rebels will catch up with us."

"Then we're meant to meet. It's fate. Besides the GINN, none of their weapons are a match for our BuCUEs." Andrew said to his subordinate. "When people are put to the test, I often hear them boast that they'd rather die. Do you really think they mean it?"

_"Commander!"_ the BuCUE squad leader said. _"There's six-no...eight jeeps approaching. It's the rebels."_

"Well...It seems that they'd rather die after all."

A barrage of rockets struck the lead BuCUE, doing little damage to the machine as the Desert Dawn attacked. Their jeeps headed for the Tiger's jeep, intending to take him out regardless of the cost. But the BuCUEs moved into protect their commander.

The Desert Dawn fought valiantly but were outgunned and outclassed by the BuCUEs. The BuCUE pilots didn't even feel the need to fire their weapons. Instead, they simply crushed the jeeps under their feet or ran over them.

Cagalli's jeep slid underneath one BuCUE and she and Kisaka fired their rockets at it. The BuCUE slowed and the instant the jeep pull in front of it, one of its legs swung at the jeep.

"Get off!" Kisaka shouted, grabbing Cagalli and jumping from the jeep.

But Ahmed was too slow. And both he and the jeep were sent flying into the air. "AHMED!" Cagalli screamed at the sight of her friend.

The BuCUE turned its head to the two. A pair of rockets struck the BuCUE's head. Sahib's jeep appeared, Sahib shouldering two rocket launchers. The BuCUE's attention turned to the jeep and chased after it. Sahib quickly started reloading one of the launchers. But the BuCUE was catching up on them. They weren't gonna make it.

A shot rang out. A round tore through the BuCUE's head.

"Come on, you punks! Why don't you try someone who can actually fight back!" Victor said as he fired more rounds from his sniper rifle on the ZAFT forces. Two rounds tore through the BuCUE's missile launcher, destroying it.

_"Come on! If we get close enough, that rifle is useless!"_ a BuCUE pilot said.

The BuCUEs all regrouped and took off for the GINN.

"Never underestimate this GINN or me!" Victor shouted.

The GINN discarded his sniper rifle and its hands reached for its waist. Hidden compartments on its skirt opened, revealing beam sabers. Victor drew the sabers and activated the GINN's thrusters, sending it towards the BuCUEs. The Talos sidestepped the undamaged BuCUEs, heading for the damaged one in the rear. The sabers tore through the damaged BuCUE, slicing it into three pieces before it exploded. He spun around and kicked another BuCUE onto its back when a third tackled him from behind. "Time to end this!" the BuCUE squad leader said as he and his two undamaged teammates prepared to fire on him.

A beam struck the sand near the BuCUEs. Everyone looked up. It was the Strike riding atop the Raven, in its mobile armor mode. The Strike fired more beams at BuCUEs, all of which fell short. "I missed." Kira said to himself. "Right. I forgot to factor in the heat convection."

The Raven, which did not possess ranged beam weapons, fired its railgun and machine-guns at the BuCUEs, while Kira adjusted his rifle. The BuCUEs scattered, avoiding the rounds. The Strike jumped off the Raven, firing at BuCUEs while the Raven transformed back. The two mobile suits landed next to the Talos, which had gotten back onto its feet. The GINN had switch from its sabers to its assault rifle. _"Are you okay Mr. Cain?"_ Kira asked.

_"I'm fine. Glad to see you boys join the party."_ Victor said. _"And call me Victor. Mr. Cain makes me sound like an old man."_

Nearby, Wing Zero flew in, the Z.A.M. Gundam in its grasp. The heavy-weapons machine landed in the sand, with Wing Zero landing beside it. Nisha opened fire with the shoulder cannons, the beams landing not too far from the BuCUEs. Next to him, Wing Zero fired the Buster Rifle, the low-powered beam hitting a BuCUE in the rear, vaporizing the back legs.

_"Sorry we're late. Wing Zero's pilot had to pick me up."_ Nisha said as he faced the other three.

Suddenly, a barrage of missiles flew at the five. They scattered, avoiding the missiles, and fired at the five attacking BuCUEs. Two managed to avoid the attacks. But one of the Raven's railgun rounds tore the hind right leg of the third BuCUE. The mobile suit collapsed. "What? No way!" the pilot said as he tried to get his machine back up. "Dammit! I'm not done yet!"

Wing Zero took out the fourth with its beam saber in three quick movements, disabling the machine. Nisha fired on the last one, missiles hitting the left front leg. The BuCUE collapsed, unable to get back up.

The limping BuCUE turned and fired remaining missiles at them. "You idiot!" Chris cursed as he fired at the BuCUE.

Two rounds tore through the BuCUE and it exploded. "If you had just stayed down, you would have lived." Chris said.

"Ahmed!" Cagalli shouted, holding her friend. "Ahmed! Look at me!"

Caga...lli..." Ahmed weakly said. "To me...you are the Goddess...of..."

Ahmed's eyes closed and his head fell to its side. He was dead. Cagalli desperately shook his body. "Come on Ahmed! Open your eyes! Ahmed!"

Elsewhere, the fallen BuCUE managed to get back to its feet. "Kirkwood, let me get in and pilot that BuCUE." Waltfeld said.

_"Commander?"_

"There are some things you just can't be sure of until you're exchanging fire."

The Strike dodged more missiles from the BuCUEs. Both the Talos and the Raven fired back, but the BuCUEs were too fast and avoided their shots. "Damn. These BuCUEs are just too fast." Victor said.

Suddenly, a barrage of missiles hit the Raven's back, sending it forward. "What? What was that?" Chris said.

"That third machine. It's back up." Victor said, turning the BuCUE.

He fired at the BuCUE, but Andrew effortless dodged the shots and tackled the GINN. "This one's much better than before." Victor commented as the BuCUE headed for the Strike and the Raven. "Could it be? Is the Tiger at the controls?"

A BuCUE tackled the Strike but Kira blocked with the Strike's shield. Kira pushed the BuCUE back and aimed at the BuCUE. He was about to fire when missiles hit the Strike, throwing its aim off. "Formation Delta, now!" Waltfeld ordered.

The four remaining BuCUEs formed alongside their commander while the Raven and the Talos reached the Strike's side. "Five against one? I don't think so." Chris said.

The five raced towards the five mobile suits. The left one slammed into the Raven, the right one hit the Talos, and Waltfeld's BuCUE tackled into the Strike. The last two took on Wing Zero and the Z.A.M. Gundam. The BuCUEs spun around and fired a barrage of missiles at the Strike and the Raven before they could turn to face them. The missiles hit their targets.

"Dammit." Chris cursed as he struggled to keep the Raven upright. "Kira, we have to get up into the air or we're toast."

_"Right."_ Kira said as both mobile suits jumped into the air.

But the Tiger expected this. And as soon as they were in the air, his BuCUE jumped up at the Strike and fired several missiles at it at point blank range. While the two other BuCUEs jumped up and unloaded their remaining missiles at the Raven. Both Gundams fell back to Earth. The Strike landed on its feet and quickly moved, dodging more of Waltfeld's missiles while the Raven fell on its back, its phase-shift armor deactivating. "Damn! I'm out of power!" Chris said.

_"Don't worry. I got your back."_ Victor said, heading for the powerless machine.

Wing Zero and the Z.A.M. Gundam were too busy to help, as both were engaged in their own fights.

"I knew it. That phase-shift armor is strong. But it's not unstoppable. Enough hits and it runs out of power." Waltfeld said. "Keep the other machines busy while I finish it off!"

One of the two BuCUEs headed for the GINN while the other headed for the Strike and tackled it, keeping Victor from helping. Waltfeld's BuCUE turned to the Raven, it fired off more missiles at it. Kira's eyes widened in horror as the missiles streaked towards the Raven. He had to stop them. He had failed to protect others too many times already. This time was going to be different. A purple object shattered in the back of his mind. He fired his beam rifle and Igelstellungs at the missiles. They all exploded before they could reach the Raven.

"Whoa..." Chris said, in utter amazement at his friend's abilities.

"Impressive." Waltfeld said. "He's no Natural."

Before he could fire again, Omega One fired on him, forcing him back from the Raven. Waltfeld could only wonder who the pilot was, as the shot was right in his path to the Alliance machine. _'Omega One…how interesting you are… You're obviously no Natural either, pilot of Omega One…'_

Forcing him back even more was the Z.A.M. Gundam, which was firing its beam cannons at his BuCUE. Waltfeld had to dodge to stay alive and in one piece. "Very clever of you…you are no Natural either…"

A BuCUE lunged at the Strike. The Strike ducked under the BuCUE and fired at its underbelly, destroying it. As he got back up, Kira drew a beam saber and slashed at the Tiger's lunging BuCUE. Its left forearm went flying off.

"Dammit." Waltfeld cursed. "We're withdrawing."

The remaining ZAFT forces quickly fled the area, leaving the Strike, the Raven, the Talos and the handful of surviving Desert Dawn fighters. Victor looked out at the survivors and shook his head. This is why he hated groups like the Desert Dawn. Few members of rebel groups truly ever understood the art of war. Most fought ruthlessly to kill their enemy regardless of the cost and most were passionate to the degree of blind fanaticism. And worse, they prescribed to the eye for an eye philosophy. Such people were simply fuel for the fires of war.

He watched Kira leave his machine and approach the survivors. He said something that obviously pissed Cagalli off. She grabbed his collar and shouted something back, gesturing towards the body of Ahmed. Kira slapped her. "Wow. He didn't strike me as the type to hit a girl." Victor said. "Well, someone needed to slap some sense into her anyway."

* * *

_ZAFT Gibraltar Base_

_The Next Day_

_"I trust that there won't any further problems, Zane." _Rau said.

"No sir. I apologize for my outbursts in space. It was a temporary madness. My emotions are back under control. It won't happen again sir." Zane said to the screen.

_"Good. Ensure that it does not happen again."_ Rau said darkly. _"How is Operation Spitfire proceeding on your end?"_

"I have spoken with _Azrael_." Zane said, saying the Blue Cosmos Leader's name in disgust. "They have begun installing the Cyclops System under JOSH-A. But Azrael's supporters in the AEU want the complete planning and tactical data on the Operation before they'll fully commit to Azrael's proposal."

_"As expected. With the loss of Victoria, they're worried about losing Panama. I'll ensure that they get the data. What of the legged ship?"_

"We've just received word. They're in Andrew Waltfeld's backyard." Zane replied.

"Apparently, they managed to escape two attacks from the Desert Tiger. It seems that his skills aren't as great as they claim."

_"I highly doubt that." _Rau said_. "The Tiger is one of our better commanders. It's more likely that he's testing the legged ship and its mobile suits. When he's ready, the legged ship will find itself in a much more trying battle. Not to mention the 7th Fleet is there as well."_

"Yzak's been demanding that we be allowed to go there and destroy the legged ship. Shall we go there and dispose of them?"

_"No. Waltfeld should be able to destroy them on his own. But if he asks for reinforcements from Gibraltar, then by all means go."_

"Very well then sir."

* * *

_Banadiya_

A pair of jeeps stopped amid the crowded marketplace. Kira, Cagalli, Chris, Flay, Heero, and Victor stepped off. "Alright. Come back to pick us up in four hours." Victor said to Sahib.

"Dismissed Ensign...Er...Kira. Good luck. I'm...ah...counting on you." Badgiruel nervously said.

The two jeeps took off, leaving the six in the marketplace. Victor shook his head. "That woman needs to learn to loosen up." he said. "Okay. There're some things I need to pick up. I'll find you when I'm done."

* * *

_Aboard the Archangel_

Elizabeth Dante smiled as she aced the Sky Grasper simulator again. Out of all of those that had tried it, she was best…well, second best. Only Tolle and that girl Cagalli had come close to her scores. But then again, she was a Coordinator. Yet Heero Yuy had beaten her scores with little trouble, and he was a _Natural_. She shook her head and dismissed the thoughts about him.

"Wow. You're good enough to pilot one of the two other Sky Graspers with Lieutenant La Flaga." Johanna said, resting an arm on the simulator chair.

"So you got all the Sky Graspers up and running?" Liz said.

"Yeah. All three are up and running. The morons that built these things, royally screwed up. It took so much longer than we expected." Johanna replied. "I see that you've been ruling the simulator."

"Considering that the only ones to try it have been Sai, Miri, Tolle and that Cagalli girl, that's not saying a whole lot. And that is _not_ counting Heero Yuy."

"True."

"Hey, what would I have to do to pilot one of these things in battle?" Liz asked.

"You'd have to talk with the Captain." Johanna replied. "Are you sure you want to do this? You'll be in danger every time you step in the cockpit."

"I know. But I want to do it. If Chris is fighting, then I want to help out too."

"Speaking of him, you'll know he'll freak out when he finds out."

"Of course. That's an added bonus." Liz said with a smirk.

"You know he's only trying to keep you safe."

"I know. But I hate it when he treats me like a child that can't protect herself."

"He just cares about you."

"I know."

* * *

_An Hour and a Half Later_

"What are these?" Kira asked as the waiter delivered their lunch.

"Donor kebabs." Cagalli said. "They're delicious. Especially with chili sauce."

Heero just looked at his kebab before poking it with a finger. "And no…it is not poisoned, Heero." Cagalli replied.

The other pilot just glared at her. "You never know…" he snarled back before picking up his kebab and eating it.

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." a man in a red and yellow shirt with sunglasses and a hat said, grabbing the yogurt bottle. "But this yogurt sauce is the proper sauce to add. Or rather, it's considered a form of sacrilege to Donor kebabs, to not add yogurt sauce."

Heero tensed as he realized someone had gotten the drop on them. The man seemed calm and nice enough, but the way he held himself instinctively gave away the fact that he was a soldier.

"Hey! Who do you think you are? Telling us how to eat our kebabs." Cagalli rudely said. The man just chuckled.

She poured chili sauce onto her kebab before taking a big bite out of it. "Mmm...Delicious!"

The man recoiled at sight of her actions. Cagalli then pushed the chili bottle in front of Kira's plate. "Here. Try it." she said.

"Oh no. Don't go forcing your bad habits on this guy." the man said, his bottle clashing with Cagalli's like a pair of duelists' swords.

The two both squeezed their bottles, pouring their two sauces onto Kira's kebab. Unbeknownst to the trio, a group of Blue Cosmos terrorists were preparing to attack the Desert Tiger.

Had Heero been paying attention, he would have found the sight of two sauces on Kira's plate amusing. But he was too busy looking around at the growing crowd. He noticed that several more people had come in, and while they were in civilian clothes, they carried the air of soldiers about them. However, Chris and Flay were snickering at the silliness of the two sauces on Kira's plate.

"Actually, they're pretty good together." Kira said, eating his kebab.

The man chuckled and took a seat at their table. "So, you five were shopping." the man said, taking note of their bags. "Throwing a party?"

"First off, who are you? What kinda guy just sits down at someone's table and starts asking them questions?" Cagalli said. Heero narrowed his eyes at the man, wondering what he was up to.

Suddenly, a rocket was fired from the roof of a building across the street.

"Hit the dirt!" the man shouted, kicking the table up and pushed the teens down.

The rocket flew past them and hit the restaurant window.

"For the preservation of our blue and pure world!" a Blue Cosmos terrorist shouted, firing on the people in front of the restaurant.

"Die Space Invaders!" another shouted.

Blue Cosmos terrorists emerged, firing on the people eating at the restaurant. The ZAFT soldiers clad in civilian clothes, returned fire from behind knocked over tables. "Eliminate them all!" the man ordered.

Heero whipped out his gun and fired on a terrorist running at him. The man fell to the ground, dead with a bullet between the eyes. Another one ran up behind him, but Heero stabbed him in the chest, killing him with a small four-inch knife that the pilot carried.

One by one, the terrorists were gunned down. One terrorist that was running at the four was shot and his gun slid across the ground, stopping near Kira and Cagalli.

Chris fought one terrorist off with some of his martial arts moves while Flay was with the man behind a table.

Kira suddenly spotted a terrorist sneaking up on the man from an alley. In a single fluid motion, Kira drove, grabbed the gun and threw it at the man. The gun struck the man's face and Kira ran and kicked the man, knocking him down.

"Okay it's over." the man said as one of the soldiers shot the man on the ground.

Kira cringed as the man was shot. "Hey! Don't you even know what a gun is supposed to be used for?" Cagalli said.

"Commander!" a red haired ZAFT officer said, approaching the man in the yellow shirt. "Commander, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Thanks to this young man." the man said, turning to Kira, Heero, Flay, Chris, and Cagalli.

He pulled off his hat and sunglasses. Cagalli's eyes widened in surprise. "You mean, we were talking to Andrew Waltfeld. The Desert Tiger...It's him..."

Heero's eyes became hard at the revelation of the Desert Tiger. Andrew Waltfeld noticed the change in the young man's eyes, but he either ignored it, or was not showing his wariness.

"Dammit. Those filthy Coordinators. I'll kill them all." the remaining Blue Cosmos member said from his hiding place on the roof, as he loaded another rocket into his launcher. "Just one rocket and the Tiger's-"

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around his neck, choking him. "You know, every time I see one of you thugs die, I feel that the world becomes just a little bit more blue and pure." Victor whispered into his ear. "It's people like you that destroy the honor and civility of war. So...how do you put it? For the preservation of our blue and pure world."

_SNAP!_

Victor dropped the body and glanced over at the scene on the streets below. Kira, Chris, Flay, Heero, and Cagalli were being put on jeep with the Tiger.

"Well now, things are getting interesting." he commented. "I better make sure those kids don't get into any trouble."

* * *

_Andrew Waltfeld's Headquarters_

_Twenty Minutes Later_

"Sit, relax." Waltfeld said, pouring four cups of coffee.

Kira looked around the room, searching for an escape route, when he spotted it. A small replica of Evidence 01. Beside him, Chris had already been gazing at the replica, despite his better judgement

Nearby, Heero was also looking around. He was trying to find an escape route, but unlike Kira, he did not get distracted by Evidence 01. Growling softly, he found there was no escape route visible. Only then did he notice Evidence 01.

"Evidence 01." Waltfeld said, bring Kira, Chris, and Heero a cup of coffee. "Have you ever seen the real McCoy?"

"No." The three pilots replied.

"I have no idea why they call this thing a Whale Stone. Does that look like a whale to you?" Waltfeld asked.

"I really can't say."

"I don't know."

"…"

"If you ask me, those look like wings. And whales don't normally come with wings, now do they?"

"Yeah. But they brought this back from space as proof of extraterrestrial life." Kira replied. Heero looked back at Kira out of the corner of his eye before glancing at Waltfeld.

"The point I'm trying to make is, why is this figure assumed to be that of a whale's?"

"Well then, what would you call it?" Heero asked, throwing the ZAFT officer for a loop.

"I have to admit, nothing comes to mind." Waltfeld said, sipping his coffee. "On to more pressing matters, what do you think of this coffee? Or have you not developed an appreciation for it yet?"

Kira took a sip of his coffee. It had an unusual taste to it. Not unpleasant, but unusual. It reminded him of the cup Victor gave him the other day. Heero did the same thing. It was bitter, but that had a good thing about it. And a strong flavor of mint was there as well. Chris sipped his coffee and was surprised to find he liked it.

"Not what I had expected from one of your status." Heero said as he looked at the ornamentation.

"Blame it on the Earth Alliance. They had some European aristocrat as the commanding General for the North Africa forces. Guy did not know what he was doing when it came to war. He decided to have this place constructed as a monument to himself, or at least, that is what I heard. Personally, I prefer something more low key." Waltfeld replied.

Heero just gave a small grunt in reply. "Hn."

Voices were then heard outside the room.

"So, the pilots are here huh? Why didn't you tell us, Commander?" a calm voice said.

"Because I just found out from Aisha." Another one replied.

"I believe that there was one other with them." A third voice exclaimed.

"I wonder who the last pilot is." A fourth voice said.

"I heard that the pilot of Omega One is here, so it may be interesting." A fifth voice replied.

The three occupants of the room turned to the door, only to see three red coats and two white coats there. Kira gaped at the black haired red coat.

"Aki'?"

The black haired boy just growled. "So, you're still working with the Earth Alliance, huh?"

Chris frowned. "What does it matter to you? You're the one who betrayed us."

Kira just looked down in response. Heero narrowed his eyes as the five studied him.

"So, who are you?" a black haired white coat asked. She was of Commander rank, Heero noted as she studied him.

"I'm the pilot of Omega One."

Another woman of Commander rank looked at Waltfeld. "You could have given us the heads up, Field Marshal."

"Slipped my mind. Sorry. It seems that Aisha gave you the heads up though, so it all works out, Commander Wolfe."

The female smiled again before looking to the two teens on the couch. Her green eyes met Heero's blue ones, and he knew right away that she was the one who he had fought. "You…so…you were my opponent."

"I see you figured out who I am…" he growled. The ZAFT Commander was taken back a bit, but she remained in control of her composure.

"Not very talkative, are you?" she remarked. Heero just grunted once before looking away. "Hn."

"Anyway, these are my teammates. Akira Nishikama, Tao White, Josh Ajaxy, and Heidi Matthews." Commander Wolfe said as she pointed at the black-haired red coat, the female white coat, a blonde-haired red coat, and a white-haired red coat.

Kira was nervous and Chris was uncertain while Heero was on edge. The five sat down at Waltfeld's instance. "Why don't you all take a seat? There are plenty to go around."

Heero noticed Kira was uneasy and realized that he had never seen this side of the war yet Nor had Chris for that matter. '_They may not be hostile right now, but the fact that they are the enemy remains. Kira and Chris have not seen war enough to be familiar with this situation: where one finds out that the enemy is not that different from us.'_

He was trying to figure out a way out when the door slid open again.

* * *

Elsewhere, Victor quietly crept down the hallways of the Tiger's HQ. He had little difficulty evading the guards outside, but now that he was inside, things were a lot more difficult. If he wasn't careful, he'd bump into someone, it'd be all over.

But that aside, things were about to become much more interesting.

* * *

"Andy." Aisha said, knocking on the door.

"Come on in." Waltfeld replied.

The door opened and Aisha, along with a very nervous Cagalli, clad in a beautiful dress, entered. Aisha's was a strapless blue dress that clung to her body and showed off her curves very nicely. Cagalli's dress was green and strapless, making her appear to be royalty. Flay wore a pink dress that had white lines running down the skirt, and the dress itself was also strapless. Heero noted this right off the bat.

"You're...A girl..." was Kira's only response.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"No. I meant that this again reminds me that you're a girl."

"That's the same thing, jackass!"

The adults started laughing at the two teens, embarrassing them. Heero just remained silent. A few minutes later, when everyone had regained their composure, Waltfeld, Kira, Heero, Chris, Flay, and Cagalli sat down the couches in the room.

"That dress looks quite good on you. From the looks of things, I'd say that you're accustomed to wearing such fine clothes." the Tiger said.

"Say whatever you want." Cagalli replied rudely.

"The perfect little lady until you speak." the man said.

"Sorry Andy. I could only find a dress for her and clean her up a bit. Her attitude is not going anywhere, despite what I told her." Aisha replied.

Heero could not help but smile a tiny bit, albeit wryly. _'No matter what you put her in, she will still be rough on the edges.'_

"Well, it's just as hard for me to believe that you're the Desert Tiger. Why are you spending your time dressing people up? Is that how you get your kicks, Waltfeld?"

"Aisha was the one that picked out the dress. And what do you mean by getting my kicks?" he said, sipping his coffee.

"Running around the city in a disguise or having residents flee their towns before you burn them down."

"What lovely eyes. There's something sincere about them."

"Don't toy with me!" Cagalli shouted, slamming her fists onto the table.

"Are you one of those people who'd rather be dead?" Waltfeld asked.

"You." he said, staring at Heero, Chris, and Kira. "What do you think about all this? What do think needs to be done to end this war? I'm asking your opinions as mobile suit pilots?"

"Hey! How do you know that?"

Waltfeld laughed as Cagalli realized what she just did. "Being too sincere can also be a liability."

"But that aside, I want to know about the two pilots who are using the Earth Forces' three remaining machines.

"I work for no one." Heero replied, throwing the ZAFT pilots for a loop. "I only fight with the _Archangel_ as a mercenary of sorts."

Araiya nodded. "I see. Somehow I doubt your story is a lie, judging by the way your eyes tell the story."

"I am protecting the ship for my own reasons, and Wing Zero is not an Alliance machine. It is my own machine, and the data for it cannot be found in any of their databases." Heero retorted

"You mean that you built it?!" Josh asked in shock.

Heero just glared at him. "It was built by a friend of mine and was made completely independent of every government out there." He snarled.

"I see. So you won't go into any more detail?" Tao inquired.

Heero just reached for his sidearm, which she took as her cue to shut up.

Waltfeld smirked. "Well, I guess that clears things up. But it is obvious that you and your machine are not from around here. I don't think you will be saying where you are from though, judging by the way you are looking at us."

"Hn."

"But…that aside…you two are interesting. Four Coordinators who fight against their own people. You are formidable foes for sure." The ZAFT officer purred.

Heero just frowned slightly before he realized that the people before him must be Coordinators. He smirked slightly before he spoke. "I am no Coordinator. But I can confirm the other three pilots are."

Waltfeld stood up and walked towards a desk. "Unlike sports, the game of war has no time limit or points awarded. So how do you determine the winners and the losers?" he said, rummaging through a drawer. "At what point do we put an end to it? When every single one of your enemies have been destroyed?"

He pulled out a gun, pointing it at the five teens. Heero pulled Kira and Cagalli behind him just as Chris did the same with Flay, his eyes scanning the room for a way to escape or something to use to protect them.

"I wouldn't try anything. Even if you have berserker capabilities, you still wouldn't be able to escape from here."

"Berserker?"

Heero looked at the young Coordinator, a confused look in his eyes.

"I thought so. You are quite skilled. Take your adjustments to surface pressure and heat perimeters in the heat of battle. I'd say amongst us Coordinators, you'd be a top specimen. But of course, you comrades in the Raven and Z.A.M. Gundams are quite skilled as well. And Heero is very curious as well. A Natural who can fight at the level of Coordinators. I'm curious to see which one of you is stronger."

The door suddenly flew open. Victor was standing there, a handgun aimed at the Tiger. "Andrew Waltfeld. It's been awhile." he said stepping into the room.

"Indeed it has." Waltfeld replied.

The two men approached each other, their guns pointed at the other. They stood there for a moment. Their guns practically pressing against each other's chests. Suddenly, to the surprise of the three teens, they both started laughing and lowered their weapons. "I should have known you'd be too stubborn to be killed by an assassin." Waltfeld said, embracing Victor in hug. "And I should have known that you were the only one that could be that good of a shot."

"Well it wouldn't be lying low unless virtually everyone thought I was dead." Victor replied.

"You two know each other?" Kira asked.

"Of course I know the Black Hawk." Andrew said. "We've known each other since we were kids."

"John Alaric..." Cagalli said in shock, staring at the man they had known as Victor Cain. "ZAFT's dreaded Black Hawk...You're John Alaric?"

* * *

Victor's real identity has been revealed. And the 7th Fleet is revealed as well. And Patrick Zala is hiding something that could change the war for good. Any flames **_will_** be reported and/or deleted depending on if they are signed or not. Constructive criticism is appreciated as well, as it can help me improve on the story. Please read and review! ^^ I will take the time to reply to any reviews if they are left as well, but if they are asking for spoilers, then there will be only hints, no actual revelations on the story's plot. Please click the button below! ^^


	13. Phase 12: Beyond the Clouds of Sand

Chapter 12: Beyond the Clouds of Sand

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: You will see~! ;3 And yes, Aisha does survive the battle. :3**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are.**

**Anyway, please read and review!**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

"Yes. Victor Cain was just an alias." Victor said. "My real name is John Alaric."

Kira stared at Victor-John, completely shocked. The man that was fighting alongside the Desert Dawn was really working for ZAFT.

Heero was just as surprised, but unlike the other two, he hid his shock well.

Behind him, the other ZAFT pilots and commanders were just as shocked.

"You traitor!" Cagalli shouted, running at him.

Unfortunately, she forgot that she was in heels and tripped. John offered her a hand up, but scowled at him and got up on her own. John sighed. "I'm not a traitor. Well, not to Desert Dawn anyway. Aside from lying about my name, what I told you was the truth."

"Allow me to properly reintroduce myself. Commander John Alaric, formerly the commander of ZAFT's 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet." he said, preforming the ZAFT salute. "More commonly known as the Black Hawk. Currently working as a mercenary for the Desert Dawn. Andy and I have known each other since we were kids."

John poured himself a cup of coffee and took a sip. "Mmm...This is good. Columbian beans with French cream and...Is that kona I taste?"

"Yes. It's one of my latest favorites."

"I can see why. Have you tried adding vanilla to this?"

"No. You know how hard it is to get that stuff."

"True. You know I have some-"

"Are you two just going to sit here and talk about coffee?" an annoyed Cagalli said.

"And what's wrong with that?" Andrew asked.

"What's wrong? You've captured us and he's been pretending to a mercenary and now all you what to do is talk about stupid coffee!"

Both men cringed at the words, 'stupid coffee'. "First off, you can insult us all you want, but never insult the coffee." Waltfeld said.

"Secondly, I haven't been pretending to be a mercenary. For the last six months, I have _been_ a mercenary." John added.

"Yeah right!" Cagalli shouted. "You're spying on the Desert Dawn for ZAFT! You probably warned the Tiger of our attack after Tassil!"

John shook his head. "Let me ask you this, if I was a spy, why didn't I warn the Tiger of our ambush or the minefield when we save the _Archangel_? Why did I argue with those men that foolishly threw away their lives after Tassil? If I'm a spy, why hasn't the Andy attacked the Desert Dawn HQ? Surely if I was a spy, he would have attacked the HQ instead of destroying Tassil." John said. "Finally, why is it that you had no problem with me when I was just a ZAFT soldier, but now that I'm a ZAFT commander, you accuse me of being a spy?"

"I...You..."

"Or could it be that you wish to blame me for yesterday as well?" John said. "Blaming someone for someone else's death in war is pointless. You might as well blame Ahmed for foolishly following the others to a battle that they could not win."

"HOW DARE YOU!" Cagalli shouted. "Ahmed and the others were fighting for their families! Their homes! And you blame them for their deaths?"

"They died because they would not listen to reason. Those who run into battle foolishly _will_ die a merciless death." Heero replied, prompting John to look at him.

The older man had a confused look on his face as he pondered the young Natural's response. _'Could he be…a child soldier?'_ It was not impossible, and it seemed to be the most logical reason for him being a pilot.

John then sighed. "Andy, send out the kids. I have something to tell in private." he said, before Cagalli could say anything else. "And I don't feel like arguing with the Overemotional Goddess anymore."

"Very well then." Andrew said. "Aisha!"

"Yes Andy..." Aisha said, entering the room and pausing when she saw John. "John...You're alive..."

"Hey Aisha." John said with a wave of his hand. "So have you two finally tied the knot?"

Andrew's face immediately reddened. "I take that as a no." John said with amusement. "You two really should. You never know what happens during war."

Andrew cleared his throat. "Aisha, could you take these three outside for a while."

"Yes Andy." she said, escorting the three equally confused teens outside.

"So what's this all about? Why did you fake your death?" Andrew asked his childhood friend.

John looked at the 7th Independent Mobile Fleet members beside him, knowing that they wanted the answers as well.

"Well...It started..."

-_Flashback-_

_Aboard the _Odin

_In Earth Orbit_

_Six Months Ago_

"_Sir. We've just received our latest orders." William Stern said as he entered his office._

"_Know what the one thing I hate about space is?" John asked, sitting at his desk._

"_Sir?"_

"_Drinking coffee from a bottle." John said, taking a sip of his coffee. "So what are our orders?"_

"_We've been ordered to engage the Earth Forces stationed near the abandoned colonies at L2."_

_John turned his chair towards the viewport behind his desk. "Why are they giving us such an easy assignment?"_

_He heard the sound of a gun being cocked. His eyes widened. "They feel that with the recent death of the Black Hawk, the Fleet should take it easy for a while." Stern said._

"_So...How long have you been working for Hong Fa Wu?" John said, not even bothering to turn to face him. "When did you decide to betray everything I taught you?"_

"_You're blind and weak! The Naturals want to wipe us out! They fear us because we will replace them! Junius Seven proved that! And yet you hold onto that outdated code of honor and refuse to see what must be done!"_

"_No. I see all too well what must be done." John replied, turning his chair around. "It's _you_ who are blind."_

_Suddenly, the door opened. Diana Kessel and several soldiers, all armed with guns, entered. "Lower your weapon, traitor." Diana coldly said._

"_I knew that someone was spying on us for Zala, Wu, and Creuset. I just didn't know who." John said. "I'm sorry to see that it's you."_

"_You're fools! All of you!" Stern said. "The Naturals will wipe us out! We have to destroy them before they can!"_

"_Lower your weapon, scum. I won't ask again." Diana said._

"_FOR ZAFT AND THE FUTURE OF ALL COORDINATORS!"_

_A shot rang out._

_William Stern's lifeless body floated backwards. A bullet hole perfectly between his eyes. John sighed, placing his gun on the desk. "Toss him out an airlock. Zala, Wu, and Creuset know I'm close to something. Close enough that they'd try to have me killed."_

_The soldiers carried out Stern's body. Diana remained behind. "What are you going to do, sir?"_

"_There's not much I can do."_

"_But sir! Stern tried to kill you under Wu's orders."_

"_Unless we have concrete proof of that, it's useless. It could have been anyone that ordered him to do it. Or he could have been doing under his own beliefs." John replied. "Nor do we have any concrete proof of Zala, Wu, or Creuset doing anything wrong. Everything is all hearsay and circumstantial."_

_John paused for a moment. "Besides, the Black Hawk is dead."_

"_Sir?"_

_John stood up and headed towards the door. "He was mortally wounded by an Earth Force's spy. The spy was killed by Alaric. And with his dying breath, named Diana Kessel as the new Commander of the 11th Fleet. Congratulations Commander Kessel." he said as the two made their way to the bridge. "But not all of the pilots agreed with that and a few left, becoming mercenaries. The 7th Fleet was informed of his death, and with his passing, they agreed to not fight under Creuset's orders."_

"_I don't understand sir. You're faking your death?"_

"_Yes. Zala, Wu, and Creuset won't stop until I'm dead. They'll continue to watch the Fleet and harass us. So, I'll give them what they want. I'll continue my investigation by myself while posing as a merc. They'll never expect it."_

-_Flashback end-_

"I'm sorry to hear about Will. He was like a son to you."

"That is the danger of men like Hong Fa Wu. They're so consumed by hate that the hate becomes a virus. And others become infected with it." John said with a sigh.

"You…faked your own death to do some undercover work?" Commander White asked.

John nodded. "Yes, I did. It was necessary to try and find out what Wu is planning." He replied.

Araiya then spoke next. "I see. That way you could help the Council from the sidelines, away from ZAFT and any enemies you might have."

"Exactly."

"So what do you know about Wu's plans?" Andy asked.

"Just over six months ago, Wu started in secret, a project to find a way to cancel out the effects of the N-Jammer."

"He wants to use nukes against the Earth Forces?" Andy asked. "Well, that would certainly end the war."

"But it would also wipe out…No way! You're joking!" Aki' cried as the numbers clicked for him. But John did not hear him.

"I don't think that's all he's planning. Not with his insane hatred of Naturals."

John was quiet for a moment. "I think he's planning genocide. The genocide of all Naturals."

"There's no way that the council would ever let him do that."

Heidi gasped as she realized that what she had picked up on was true. The hints had been there after all.

"They may not have a choice. Clyne is refusing to publicly fight with Wu out of fear that it will internally destabilize ZAFT. As a result, Wu's running wild and gaining more support through propaganda and fear. Watch a ZAFT news broadcast. Its chalk full of propaganda and fear." John said. "There's something else. Something that truly terrifies me."

"What?"

The other ZAFT officers leaned in as well, all of them wanting to hear the thing that was scaring the dreaded Black Hawk of ZAFT.

"I recently found some partially deleted records of communication between some high up in ZAFT and the Earth Forces. Unfortunately, they were too damaged to learn anything of any value."

"A spy?"

"I doubt it. I think that Wu is going to give the Earth Forces the means to cancel out the N-Jammer when they have it. The Earth Forces will use nukes against some ZAFT bases, scaring the people of the PLANTs with the thought of another Bloody Valentine. With that level of fear, they'll let Wu do anything he wants. Even staining everyone's' hand with the blood of billions and ultimately dooming all of humanity to extinction. But what I fear is that both sides will be a position to wipe each other out and won't hesitate to do so." John said. "And there is only one way for the threat to be stopped."

Tao gasped as she realized what John was getting at. "Then that means that humanity will be wiped out if that happens!"

John nodded, a grim look on his face. "What happened to the honor and civility of war? Without honor and civility, war becomes genocide."

"It was thrown out the window when the Bloody Valentine happened." Andrew said. "So what are you planning?"

John didn't say anything immediately. He just drank some more coffee. "I'm hoping to find enough evidence to show the ZAFT Supreme Council before it's too late. That's all I can do." John said. "That's it. You can send the kids back in."

Andrew nodded and called Aisha and the teens back in. Unbeknownst to the ZAFT officers in the room, Heero had been listening in, and was surprised. But he did not show it.

"Now what to do with you four?" Andrew said, his gun once again raised.

"You saved my life and this isn't a battlefield." he said, putting his gun down. "Go. I enjoyed our talk and our reunion, John."

"The next time we meet Andy, it will be on the battlefield. You know that." John said.

"I suppose you're right."

"What's the tally at now?"

"We're dead even at 50 victories apiece."

"Then that battle will be our final battle." John said. "One of us won't be returning."

"It will be an honor to defeat you for the final time." Andrew replied.

"Funny. I was gonna say the same thing. Regardless, at the end of our battle, one shall stand, one shall fall as that famous saying goes."

"Wait! You're supposed to be best friends. How can you just go ahead and agree to kill each other the next time you see each other?" Kira said, shocked by their vow.

"Because, although we're friends, we're warriors and soldiers at heart." John said. "Neither of us will back down from our duties."

"And neither of us will dishonor the other by not fighting." Andrew said. "That is why we will fight and kill each other when we meet on the battlefield again."

"That is war at its worst." Heero replied, summing up the situation perfectly.

Aisha led Cagalli to a room where she could change in her cleaned clothes. After she had changed, Aisha led them to a waiting jeep to take them back near the restaurant where they had met the Tiger. None of them said anything, but Cagalli glared at John. When they arrived, the jeep dropped them off and left, leaving them.

"Are you done glaring at me?" John said. "Despite what you may think, I'm not your enemy."

"Are you going to tell Sahib and the others who you really are?" Cagalli said, her tone still as rude as ever.

"Of course." John said. "I doubt it will be much secret anymore."

_Desert Dawn HQ_

_A Few Hours Later_

"So let me get this straight." Murrue said. "The name Victor Cain is just an alias. You are in fact, John Alaric, former Commander of ZAFT's 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet. You faked your death and for the last six months, have been fighting as a mercenary."

"Yes." John said. "Although I would ask that you all keep that a secret in your reports for that. If word got out as to who I was, there'd be people on both sides that would seek to kill me."

"You just can't expect us to just omit something like this from our reports." Badgiruel said.

"How about this Captain, I will serve aboard the _Archangel_ until you have no need of me and in exchange, you keep my true identity under wraps." John said. "Even if we succeed here, there'll be a great deal of distance to cover before you reach the Earth Force's HQ. And you need all the help you can get."

Murrue thought it over for a moment. They need any help they could get. "Agreed."

"Captain!" Natarle said. "We can't just-"

"He makes a valid point." Mu said, interrupting her. "We only have the Strike, the Raven, the Z.A.M. Gundam, Wing Zero, and my Sky Grasper to protect the ship."

"Actually, Petty Officer Dante volunteered to pilot the second Sky Grasper." Natarle said.

"Really? Does her brother know?" Mu asked.

"No." Murrue said. "I told her to tell him before I would allow her to pilot a Sky Grasper."

"Well, that's one battle I wouldn't be a part of." Mu said. "Four mobile suits and 2 Sky Graspers, one of which is being piloted by someone with no real flight experience. So we need all the help we can get."

"What about you Sahib?" John asked. "What do you have to say about what I was keeping from you?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter to me. As you've said before, you were just a hired gun. Your personal matters are not my business."

"Well, now that this little business is done with, we can focus on our next task: getting past the Tiger and the 7th Fleet to the Red Sea." John said. "Which won't be an easy task."

Sahib nodded. "This area here, is full of caves left over from abandoned mines." he said, pointing at the map. "And this area here, we've laid our landmines. If we're going to use any place for a battlefield, it would be here. Of course, the enemy knows this as well and they'll try to fight us there also."

"And the Tiger will likely have his own trap." John said.

"Are you okay with this?" Mu asked Sahib. "Not counting us, with how well you're equipped, you can expect heavy casualties."

"We could do as the Tiger says. Give up and work for them. It's a very tempting offer and we would be assured a peaceful life, like those in Banadiya. Many of our wives have urged us to do so. But a ruler's hand can be fickle and brutal. Our people have suffered for centuries because of this." Sahib said. "We will not rule or be ruled. That is our wish. If we could retake the eastern mines that the Tiger took over, that wish would be fulfilled."

Sahib sighed. "Of course, we'll be taking advantage of your power as well. So that should put your mind at ease."

"Very well then." Murrue said. "I accept your offer to assist us in getting past the _Lesseps_."

"I was wondering, Captain Ramius, if I could borrow some of your hanger crew for a few hours?"

"Why? What do you have in mind?"

"Just a little something to demoralize the Tiger's men."

_The Lesseps_

_Outside Banadiya_

_The Next Morning_

"They're on the move?" Andrew asked as he, Martin and the recently arrived members of the Creuset Team entered the _Lesseps_ Command Deck.

"Yes sir. They're heading north-northwest. And there's something on the legged ship."

"Let's see it. Increase the resolution."

The screen displayed the _Archangel_ and a group of rebel jeeps, heading for the Red Sea. The screen focused on the _Archangel_ and the object on top of its hull. Atop the _Archangel_'s hull, a black GINN with white trim stood. A pair of white strips ran down each arm and leg and a white hawk in flight was on its right shoulder, its hands resting out in front of it on the barrel of a sniper rifle, like a statue of knight, waiting for battle.

All of the ZAFT soldiers aboard the _Lesseps_, all of the ZAFT forces for that matter, knew that GINN. It was the Farsight, the GINN of the Black Hawk. Through ZAFT's propaganda, the Farsight, along with the other GINNs of the 11th Fleet and the 7th Fleet were icons of ZAFT's military might. To see it aboard the Earth Forces warship was...well like a slap in the face.

"No way! Is that the Black Hawk's GINN?" Dearka said.

"It can't be." Yzak said. "It's got to be some kind of trick."

"No." Andrew said with a smile. "It's him. The Black Hawk has thrown down the glove. He's sided with the legged ship and wants to fight me."

An uneasy silence filled the command deck. To face one of their own aces like the Black Hawk in battle was a truly frightening thought.

"They're heading for the Darpadia mines. If I was their commander, I'd do the same." Andrew said. "I wanted to wait a little while longer, but I guess it can't be helped."

"We're going to engage them?" Yzak asked.

"Yea. Get the _Lesseps_ ready for take-off. Notify the _Petrie_ and the _Henry Carter_. One way or another, this ends today."

_Aboard the _Archangel

_An Hour Later_

Kira poked his food with his fork with little enthusiasm. Sitting next to him was Lieutenant La Flaga, eating his own lunch. Leaning on the wall behind them was John, drinking his fifth cup of coffee since the _Archangel_ left the Desert Dawn base. Sitting across from them was Chris and Liz, eating their own lunches. When Chris found out that she was going to pilot one of the Sky Graspers, he had been less than pleased. The two had been arguing on and off since last night. In fact, this was the first time, since Liz told her brother, that they've been in same room and not arguing. Though they still weren't speaking to each other. Heero was eating be himself while Nisha was eating next to Liz.

"Eat up, kid." Mu said, putting a donor kebab on his tray. "Come on. We're gonna going into a battle. You need to eat to keep your strength up."

"I love these things." Mu said, taking a bite out of his own kebab. "You should try it with the yogurt sauce."

Memories of Andrew Waltfeld filled Kira's head. He never imagined that the Desert Tiger would be so...so normal. Had they met in different circumstances, they easily could have become friends.

"What's the matter?" Mu asked.

"It's just the Tiger said the same thing." Kira replied.

Mu nodded. "It's better not to personally know your enemies. Forget about him."

"That won't work." Heero replied as he looked up. "I have shot down too many enemies that I knew were just like me, and you. Forgetting them is impossible, as they remain in one's memories even after death."

John chuckled. "Heero's right. Kira is not a machine. Telling him to forget about Andy is pointless."

"Then what would you recommend?"

"To mentally prepare himself to fight and defeat Waltfeld." John said. "Telling him to do otherwise is pointless. The only way we can win here is to defeat the Tiger."

"But how can say that? He's your best friend!" Kira said.

Everyone stared at John. John simply shrugged. "Because if I don't, then the odds of you succeeding are that much smaller." John said. "There are times when we all must choose between what is easy and what must be done. I could take the easy path and not participate in this battle. But like I said, that would decrease your odds of success. You need my strength to aid you in this battle. I will take the hard road and fight my friend. And if need be, kill him. I accept that."

The sound of explosions filled their ears. "It's starting." John said, downing the last of his cup and heading for door. "Good luck out there."

Everyone rushed out of the mess hall, towards the hanger.

Kira finished zipping up his flight suit as Mu argued over one of the comm consoles with one of the hanger crews. "That's right. Launcher on Unit 1, Sword on Unit 3. Why? Because it's faster for me to switch fighters than it is to reload!"

"I know this is not NASA! I don't care if I am wasting fighters! That is how I have always done it, and that is how I will keep doing it!"

Mu sighed as he closed the comm channel. He turned to Kira. "I hate to say this, but we just can't count on the strength of those guerrillas. I'd wish you good luck, kid, but the way you've been fighting recently, I don't think we'll have too much problems."

Mu turned to Liz, now wearing a light blue flight suit. "And you, stay on my wing and be careful. A real battle is far different from a simulator."

Liz nodded. "Got it."

John climbed in the Farsight's cockpit. He powered his machine up, its crimson eye glowing. The Farsight lifted its rifle up. "_Archangel_, Sahib, hold back for a moment. I wish to try something. Don't deploy the rest of the mobile suits and the fighters until I say."

There was a pause. _"Very well."_ Murrue said.

"Attention ZAFT forces." John said, opening his comm to all channels. "This Commander John Alaric. I wish to speak with Commander Waltfeld."

Andy and Aisha were sitting in the cockpit of the LaGOWE when the call came. "Sir." DeCosta paused, unsure of how to say the next part.

"What is it, DeCosta?"

"The pilot of the black GINN, claiming to be John Alaric, is sending a message to our forces."

"Hold deploying the mobile suits and patch it through."

_"Commander Waltfeld, as you know, I am a member of a group called the Desert Dawn. We are fighting to free these lands from the tyranny of any outsiders."_ John said. _"However, neither of us truly wish to see lives end needlessly. I propose we settle this with a duel. Just you and me. If I when, all ZAFT forces must withdraw from this area permanently and allow us to pass. If you win, the Earth Forces warship will surrender without a fight."_

Needless to say, just about everyone was shocked by John's words. All of them silently waited for the Tiger's response.

"That's a tempting offer, John." Andrew replied. "But my answer is no."

"As much as I would like to battle you one last time in a duel, I have my duties and responsibilities as an officer of ZAFT. I cannot indulge in a duel here." he explained.

John nodded. _"You have, of course, made the right choice."_ he said.

"Now! Deploy the mobile suits!" both men shouted.

The _Lesseps_ and the _Petrie_ deployed their BuCUEs as combat helicopters moved into position, while the _Archangel_ deployed the Strike, the Raven, the Z.A.M. Gundam, Wing Zero, and two of its Sky Graspers with rebel jeeps and rocket trucks headed for the ZAFT forces. Not too far off, the 7th Fleet deployed its own forces.

The Strike fired its beam rifle at the incoming BuCUEs. The BuCUEs dodged the beams and fired back with their missiles or rail guns. Suddenly, a pair of rail gun rounds tore one BuCUE as it avoided one of Kira's shots. The Raven flew overhead, its rail guns and heavy machineguns firing on the BuCUEs.

"Enough of this!" a frustrated Yzak shouted as he jumped off the _Lesseps_. "I'm through sitting around."

Unfortunately, he didn't realize that the Duel would need to be reconfigured for movement on desert terrain and it immediately sank into the sand.

Suddenly, the _Archangel_'s Gottfrieds and Valiants fired on the Lesseps. Both the Buster and Zane's GINN were forced to leap off the warship to avoid the fire. And like the Duel, they too sank into the sand and all three found themselves being harassed by the jeeps of the Desert Dawn.

As the Strike and Raven teamed up on the Duel, the GINN, and the Buster, Wing Zero and the Z.A.M. Gundam moved to engage the 7th Fleet's units.

Nisha ran towards Akira, who was out in the Wing flying right towards him. A pink beam saber ignited as the Z.A.M. Gundam got within range of the aerial machine.

_"Damn it, Nisha! Why are you still fighting for the Earth Forces?! Can't you see that they killed our family members we loved most?!"_ Aki' snarled over the com-line as he ignited the Wing's golden beam saber.

Both machines collided, pink meeting gold as the beam sabers met in the middle.

"I know what the Earth Forces did, but you can't remain in the past! _You have to move on!_" Nisha cried as he stamped the peddles down hard. The Z.A.M. Gundam pulled back from the Wing, only to slash at the cockpit section of the flight Gundam. Akira yanked back on the controls, moving his machine out of the way, but just barely.

Not too far away, Heero was engaging Heidi, Josh, and Commander Wolfe in a three on one battle. The three GINNs, able to fight on Earth due to their…special equipment…, ran at Wing Zero, weapons aimed and swords out.

Heero just grunted as he dodged Heidi's machine. Whipping out his green beam saber, he countered with a parry. This gave Josh time to aim his gun at the Gundam. His rifle powered up, unheard due to his modifications of his machine. A silent shot whipped out of the barrel and sped towards Wing Zero.

The warning alarm blared within the cockpit, making Heero jump back just as the shot hit the sand, throwing up a cloud of it. "A sound suppressor…" he noted as he looked at the dark blue machine.

Josh aimed the rifle again, firing straight at Wing Zero. Heero dodged the majority of the shots, with a few hitting his machine every now and then.

The Natural began to near Josh's GINN, which was beginning to fire much faster as he approached. Wing Zero moved the beam saber back and slashed. A green blur was all Josh registered before the barrel of his sniper rifle fell off.

"Heh. He disarmed me. Not everyone can do that." Josh remarked with a grin as he pulled out his machine's sword. The blade clashed with the green beam saber of Wing Zero as Heero moved in.

Commander Wolfe noticed the explosion of energy that radiated off of the clashing swords. Pulling out her machine's combat knives, she ran at Wing Zero. The cockpit warning bleeped as she neared Heero, alerting him to her position. Whirling his machine around, he blocked her with his shield before he opened up with the shoulder-mounted Gatling guns.

The burst of bullets did not damage her machine, but it did surprise Commander Wolfe enough to give Heero time to back away from her and Josh. Taking out the Buster Rifle, Heero immersed himself into the Zero System before he opened up his eyes. Wing Zero took a rifle butt in each hand before the rifle came apart, stunning both ZAFT officers. Smirking slightly, he then pulled the triggers on each, a golden beam lancing forth.

Josh and Commander Wolfe both jumped back, but not before Josh's machine got hit in the leg, destroying the limb. His machine fell onto its rear before he decided to retreat.

_"Commander, I gotta retreat. I can't stand and several power cables were cut. I am at only 65% power."_ Josh reported, making Commander Wolfe nod.

"Understood. Heidi and I will take it from here."

_"Yes ma'am."_

"Heidi, move in. I need you to cover me as I engage Wing Zero." Commander Wolfe ordered as Josh retreated.

_"Alright! Time to make these Naturals pay!"_

Heidi's GINN ran at Wing Zero, forearm blades out. Heero moved the shield in front of the cockpit, the blades impacting the metal with sparks flying.

A grunt escaped Heero as he put the Buster Rifle away and got out his beam saber. The green blade ignited, just as Heidi backed off. "So…she is a close quarters specialist…" he mused as Heidi's machine stood in the sun, the light making the red parts stand out.

Commander Wolfe then moved in, her sword out. Heidi followed suit. As both GINNs ran at the Gundam, Heero got out the second beam saber, which he then used to parry them both. Heidi tried to disarm Wing Zero with her knives, but Heero blocked the attempt with Wing Zero's shield, which was mounted on the arm that held the second beam saber.

"Very clever, but it is not enough to overcome me…" he murmured as he then sliced her GINN's arms off. Without her blades, Heidi then tried to ram Wing Zero with her machine's head in a head-butt move. Wing Zero moved aside, slashing her machine's head off. Now unable to see, Heidi realized that Wing Zero's pilot was only holding back against her and was giving her a chance to retreat before he attacked her again.

_"Commander, I have to retreat. I can't see and my blades are gone. Even if I use my other blades, I will not be of much use without my main cameras."_ Heidi said as she prepared to leave.

"Understood. Just be careful on your return trip." Commander Wolfe replied.

_"Yes, ma'am."_

As Heidi left the battlefield, the ZAFT commander knew that she was in for a tough fight, one that would give her a thrill she had long lost.

As Heero engaged Commander Wolfe, he knew that she was skilled, even for a Coordinator. He stowed the beam sabers and pulled out the Buster Rifle just as she brought down her sword. Commander Wolfe tried to hit Wing Zero, but Heero dodged. Landing not too far from her, he then aimed the Buster Rifle at her machine and fired. The golden beam lanced forth, only to zip underneath her machine as she jumped upwards to gain some altitude over Heero.

Warning alarms blared in Wing Zero's cockpit as Heero looked up, eyeing the machine coming down at him. Bringing the shield forth to protect the cockpit, he managed to block Commander Wolfe's strike. The Buster Rifle put on his machine's hips, Heero pulled out the beam saber once again to engage her at close range.

Commander Wolfe brought her sword around in a side strike, but Heero blocked it. Green plasma clashed with glowing metal as the two machines engaged in a dance of red and green, the blades clashing with their owners. Commander Wolfe swung her blade at Wing Zero's shoulder joint, only for Heero to block her strike. His second sword out, he tried to strike her machine down by cutting the arm off, but she blocked with one of her combat knives.

He then tried to slice off one of her GINN's legs, but she parried the blow with her machine's knife as she tried to strike Wing Zero in the engines. Heero then moved Wing Zero back, and, to Commander Wolfe's surprise, turned his machine into its flight form. The now transformed machine sped around her, its maneuverability boosted greatly in its second form. She tried to hit the speeding machine with her blades, but only hit thin air where it had been mere seconds earlier.

Switching to her long range weapons, Commander Wolfe targeted Wing Zero and let loose a burst of bullets from the ranged rifle, hitting the speeding machine in the side. Heero grunted as the bullets deflected off of the Gundanium. True they did no damage, but given enough time, they could get through.

A shot rang out. A helicopter exploded. Another shot rang out. A round tore through a BuCUE's head, destroying it. A third shot rang out. The round tore through a BuCUE's front left leg. The Farsight scanned the battlefield. Kira and Chris were holding their own against the BuCUEs as the Duel and Buster were out of the fight. The Z.A.M. Gundam and Wing Zero had engaged the Wing and the 7th Fleet units. The two Sky Graspers were hitting the ZAFT land carriers. Mu's Sky Grasper fired its cannon at the _Petrie_. Smoke started billowing from the Petrie as it slowed down. He noted that two of the stolen G-Weapons and a red GINN were atop of the ZAFT flagship. But there was no sign of Andy yet. "Come on Andy. Where are you?" John said to himself. "What are you planning?"

Suddenly, missiles hit the _Archangel_ from behind. The _Henry Carter_ emerged from its hiding spot amongst a rocky region the _Archangel_ had just past. More missiles and cannon fire rained down on the _Archangel _from the ambushing warship, forcing the _Archangel_ to descend to the ground.

"Should have known." John said. "It was far too easy."

Suddenly, he saw it. The LaGOWE. In Andy's colors. "There you are." John said, taking off. "Let's settle this!"

The LaGOWE fired on the Strike. Kira brought up his shield, blocking the beams. The LaGOWE's beam sabers ignited as the mobile suit raced for the Strike. The Raven appeared in the air, firing on the LaGOWE. Andy dodged the shots as Aisha aimed the LaGOWE's cannons at the Raven and fired. The Raven turned, avoiding the shots. Kira reluctantly fired on the LaGOWE, but the LaGOWE was too fast and avoided the shots.

Suddenly, a shot rang out and the LaGOWE left wing exploded, stopping the LaGOWE in its tracks. The Farsight lowered its sniper rifle.

_"John."_ Waltfeld said.

"Andy." Alaric said.

The LaGOWE's cannon turned, aiming at the GINN. The Farsight dove out of the way as the beams flew towards it. The Farsight discarded its sniper rifle and drew its assault rifle as it got back up. The two aces fired on each other as they dodged the other's attacks.

Elsewhere, the _Archangel_ was taking a pounding from the _Henry Carter_ as the _Lesseps_ advanced on the warship. Suddenly, Sky Grasper 3, equipped with the Sword Striker, launched from the _Archangel_. Cagalli piloted her 'borrowed' fighter towards the _Petrie_.

"Who's in Skygrasper 3?" Mu asked.

_"I am."_ Cagalli said.

Mu sighed. "Okay. Stay on my wing with Liz. And try not to get shot down."

The Sky Graspers headed for the _Petrie_. The three fighters fired on the ZuOOTs atop of the land battleship. Bullets and beams tore through the ZAFT mobile suits, destroying them. Mu fired the Agni cannon on the _Petrie_, damaging it as Cagalli sliced one of the cannon turrets in two. Liz fired on another turret, destroying it. The damage vessel fired a barrage of missiles at the girls. Liz managed to dodge the missiles. But Cagalli wasn't fast enough. One missile detonated near her Sky Grasper, damaging it. Cagalli struggled to keep her fighter airborne. But ultimately, she was forced to land on the sands below.

Meanwhile, the Raven, having turned its attention to the _Lesseps_, Chris swooped down on the ZAFT flagship, first firing on the left cannon turret and then the ZuOOT on the left side on land carrier, destroying both as the Duel, the Buster and the GINN fired on him. Chris pulled up, avoiding the incoming fire.

The Strike fired on the LaGOWE, which dodged the beam and returned fire, destroying the Strike's rifle. The LaGOWE's cannon fired on the Farsight as it turned towards the GINN. The Farsight jumped up and fired at the LaGOWE. But both missed.

Their battle had been long and grueling. All three machines were starting to run low on power. They all knew it would soon be over.

Andrew glanced at the _Lesseps_. It couldn't take much more damage. "DeCosta, signal the retreat." Andrew said. "There's no way for us to win anymore."

_"Yes sir."_

Andrew turned to his copilot and lover. "You too, Aisha."

"Actually, I'd like to stay sir."

"Then we're both idiots." Andrew said. "Let's do it!"

_"Please! Stop this, Commander Waltfeld!"_ Kira pleaded, trying desperately to stop the battling friends. _"There's no reason to fight any more."_

"I told you kid, I'm not giving up until one of us is destroyed!" Waltfeld shouted.

_"But-"_

_"This is a battle between true warriors, Kira! It will only end in death for of one of us!"_ John added.

The LaGOWE and the Farsight fired on each other. One of the LaGOWE's cannon barrels exploded while the beam tore through the Farsight's rifle and pierced its right arm, rendering it useless. The Farsight's left arm drew its beam saber. _"Come on Andy, let's end this as warriors!"_

The LaGOWE's beam sabers activated. "As warriors!" Andrew shouted.

The LaGOWE took off, heading for the Farsight. The LaGOWE leapt up as it reached the Farsight. The Farsight severed the LaGOWE's front left leg while at the same time the LaGOWE severed the Farsight's left arm, leaving it defenseless.

The LaGOWE continued past the Farsight, preparing to attack again. "It's over." Andrew said.

_"Yes it is. The Hawk falls to the Tiger."_ John said, turning to face the LaGOWE. _"End this Andy."_

"NO!" Kira shouted, just as a seed shattering in his mind.

The Strike knocked the Farsight out of the LaGOWE's path. The Strike drew one of its knives and stabbed the LaGOWE's back as the LaGOWE tackled the Strike. The Strike flew back while the LaGOWE landed and then crumpled on the ground, its reactor going critical. In the LaGOWE's cockpit, Andy and Aisha embraced each other.

The LaGOWE exploded. The Farsight's cockpit hatch opened and John emerged. He saluted the fiery remains of his best friend as a lone tear rolled down his cheek. "Rest in peace, my friend."

Kira sat in the Strike's cockpit, staring at the remains of the LaGOWE. "It...It didn't have to end like this!"

The Wing retreated, a damaged leg sparking as it did so. Commander Wolfe's GINN also left, the reason being that she was low on power. But before she did, there was one last glance at the remains of the LaGOWE.

_An hour later…_

The 7th Fleet returned, only to find the remains still there. Landing, three pilots of the fleet got out of their machines and began to scour around the remains for any survivors. A form's hand moved, getting the attention of the three pilots. "We have two live ones here. Both Coordinators, one female, the other unknown. Get them on the ships, pronto!" the female pilot yelled.

In a flurry of movement, both were loaded onto the ships, and were never found by the Earth Alliance forces there the next day…

* * *

The chapter is complete. I also want to note that Heero will be more on the sidelines than in most crossover fics because of the sheer power of Wing Zero. This way, he does not steal the title of main character. He _will_ fight, but it will be in more of a defensive role of the _Archangel_. When Heero _is_ on the frontlines though, he will be either fighting the 7th Fleet, or it will be a plot device that requires his abilities. Just a heads up.

I want to remind people that flames will be either reported and/or deleted depending on if the one leaving them is signed in or not. Constructive cirticism is appreciated as well. Anyway, please read and review! ^^


	14. Phase 13: Sea Dyed Red

Chapter 13: Sea Dyed Red

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**Guest: Glad you like it so far, but please put a consistent name so my responses to your reviews can be more personal for you. :3**

**CT7567Rules: Yes, it was clever, and Heero will only be on the sidelines to protect the Archangel. That is his mission right now. :3**

**Just a Crazy Man: Glad you like it. :3**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your _account name_ at the top so I can see who you are.**

**Anyway, please read and review. I need constructive criticism to help me improve on my writing. So please send that in as well!**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

_Desert Dawn HQ_

_Later that night…_

To a new Desert Dawn." Sahib said, raising his glass.

"To a victorious future." Murrue said, raising her own cup.

"I'll drink to that." Mu added as he and Natarle raised their cups.

"To those who were lost." John said, adding his own cup to the others.

The five downed the contents of their cups. "Damn. I'm gonna need some more shots of this before the night is done." John said as Natarle started coughing.

"You know, things won't be easy for you guys." Mu said. "The Tiger may be gone, but you'll still have to deal with ZAFT. Once they regroup, ZAFT will try to take back those mines."

"Indeed. It will only be a matter of time until they come back. You should fortify and booby trap the mines as soon as possible." John said. "Of course, you may get lucky and ZAFT will decide that it's better to leave the area alone, rather than face the rebel group that beat the Desert Tiger."

"When and if they do come, we'll be ready for them." Sahib said. "We'll fight to the last man. Against anyone that oppresses us."

Sahib's son entered the command center. "Father!" the boy called out. "The Chief wants us to honor our fallen warriors."

The group headed outside, where men, women and children were gathered, paying their respects to those lost in the last few battles. While the others joined the group, John moved towards the rock wall and pulled out a knife. He began to crave into the rock face.

_Andrew Waltfeld_

_Aisha Mercer_

When he finished, John saluted the names he craved. It was all he could do for his fallen friends at the moment. But when the war was over, he would erect a proper gravestone for them.

* * *

_The Next Day_

"But you have to take me with you!" Cagalli said. "You people don't have any idea what's going on down here. And I'm better at solving any of supply problems than anyone else in your crew."

"However-"

"Of course, I can't say that I'll come with to Alaska. And I'm not joining the Earth Forces. But you need my help." Cagalli said.

"What do you mean your help?" Mu asked.

"I...I can help in lots of ways."

"Oh? And just how does an overemotional little girl going to help us out?" John asked.

Cagalli held back a growl. "Whatever the case may be, I'm going with you aboard the _Archangel_. I've already decided." she said before storming off.

"Man, what a stubborn, spoiled, overemotional, hot-headed, little girl." John said, sipping coffee. "I pity the poor fool that falls in love with her."

* * *

_The _Archangel

_The Indian Ocean_

_The Next Day_

The _Archangel _glided across the waters of the Indian Ocean. Chris, Liz, Tolle, Miri, Nisha, Heero, and some of the off duty crew members were standing on one of the outside decks, enjoying the cool breeze and the vast sea below them.

"Wow..." Liz said. "Look at all that water. I've never seen so much."

"That's right. This is your first time at sea, isn't it?" Tolle said.

"Actually, this is the first time we've been on Earth, period." Chris said, leaning on the guardrail.

"Really? Then this must be really different from what you're used to." Miri said.

"Yeah. I've seen pictures of Earth's oceans and deserts, but to actually see it with my own eyes is something else entirely." Chris said. "The pictures don't do them credit. Hey, where's Kira? He should be out here, enjoying this."

"I don't know." Tolle said. "I think he's still in the hanger."

"I'm gonna go find him." Chris said, leaving for the hanger.

* * *

Archangel_ Bridge_

"The Earth Forces have certainly left you in a difficult position. Ordering you to head to Alaska but not sending you any supplies." Kisaka said. "Although I'm sure you have enough food and water, but it would wise to avoid the enemy whenever possible."

"But sailing out into the Indian Ocean is an extremely risky plan." Natarle said. "If we were attacked out there, we'd have nowhere to escape to."

"There is no 'safe' route." John said. "No matter which route we take to Alaska, there will be danger. All things considering, this is the safest route. ZAFT does not have the numbers to just seize territory with reason. The middle of the ocean will have the least presence. With a little luck, we should be able to avoid any major ZAFT naval groups in the area. Now if you excuse me, I have to finish patching up my machine and getting it repainted."

* * *

_Hanger_

One of the hanger crew had told Chris that Kira had headed for the rear hanger. So that's where he was headed. Chris found the door and opened it. What he saw surprised him. Kira and Cagalli were hugging.

The two turned to him. "I...Er...I...Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt anything. I'll be going now." he said.

Cagalli pushed Kira back. Both were blushing. "It's not like that at all!" Cagalli said. "Kira looked upset and I was just-"

"I don't wanna know. And I'm not gonna say anything." Chris said, leaving the pair.

* * *

Vosgulov_ Class Submarine, Varnass_

_"I was quite surprised when I learned of Commander Waltfeld's death."_ Rau Le Creuset's recording said. _"I feel partly responsible as I should have been able to stop them before they reached Earth. His death is a tremendous loss. In short time, I shall arrive on Earth for Operation Spitbreak. This legged ship and its crew are formidable, so I trust I'll be able to rely on your assistance when the time comes, Commander Morassim."_

Commander Marco Morassim punched the console, ending the message. "That punk Le Creuset…He's got some nerve sending me a condescending message like that." he said. "But it doesn't matter. I'll go along with his plan. But I'll be the one to fell that so-called legged ship."

* * *

_The _Archangel

"You know, you're a pretty strange guy." Cagalli said, sitting by the door to the inside of the _Archangel_. "Take that time when you totally freaked out and slapped me."

"Sorry." Kira said, leaning against the guardrail.

"Well...It's not that I'm really mad. It's just that I wonder sometimes why you're a Coordinator."

"What?"

"Oh. That didn't come out right. I mean, why are you fighting for the Earth Forces if you're a Coordinator?"

"You probably think that's strange. I get that a lot."

"Whether or not people think you're strange is beside the point. We're at war because Naturals and Coordinators are determined to wipe each other out, no matter the cost. Don't you have any strong feelings about that?"

"What about you?"

"My feelings about someone don't matter whether they're a Coordinator or Natural."

"Same here." Kira said.

"But at the same time, I feel that if someone attacks you, you have to fight back."

"War isn't just fighting back against an attacker. War is never that simple." John said, entering the deck. "It is the greatest and most terrible thing humanity has ever done. It's just that most never see the good in war."

"What's so good about war?" Cagalli rudely said.

John leaned against the guardrail. "War claims lives, destroys homes, brings pain and suffering to all. It is a terrible, bloody thing." John said. "But it can also show us humanity's courage, its ingenuity, its strength, its honor and most importantly, people's desire to change the world for the better. It is only in battle, when one is pushed to the limit, that we can truly understand who we are. Also, there are some things that one can never truly know about someone until they face them in battle. When people are fighting, they fight with their hearts and souls. And nothing changes the world for the better faster than the horrors of war. That is the good in war."

Heero, who has not too far away, just grunted. "Hn. War is never good if all that comes from it is sorrow and pain." He remarked before walking away.

"Well, his comment aside, there's one thing that's bugging me." Cagalli said. "If you were a ZAFT commander, why are you now fighting as a mercenary?"

"When I was Victor Cain, it was simply for the money, which has been a rather nice amount. As to why I fight as I am now, there are people within ZAFT, powerful people, who want nothing more than to turn this war into a war of genocide." John said. "There is no honor in such a war. There is nothing good about genocide. And I will fight against it, even if I must betray my homeland to do it. I have no illusions about the choice I made. When this war is over, chances are, I'll never set foot on the PLANTs again. But it will be worth it if I can help bring a peaceful end to this war. Besides, I left the men and women that served under me in good hands."

"That woman Lieutenant La Flaga mentioned." Kira said.

John smiled. "Yes. He would remember her." he said. "Mu shot her down at Endymion Crater, though she survived. She actually considers Mu to be the only worthy pilot in the Earth Forces and she's determined to beat him. The fact that he's managed to survive the engagements in space you had with the 11th Fleet, speaks very highly of his abilities."

"All hands to Level 2 Battlestations! I repeat, all hands to Level 2 Battlestations!"

"Well. It looks ZAFT has found us." John said. "I was hoping that they'd still be in disarray in the area for a few more days. But it looks like it wasn't meant to be. You better get going. My machine's still undergoing repairs. So it's up to you and the others to protect the ship this time."

* * *

_Hanger_

The hanger deck was a flood of activity as the hanger crew rushed to get the mobile suits and Sky Graspers prepped for launch. Cagalli approached the third Sky Grasper. "Hold it right there." Johanna Dante said, blocking her path. "This one's still under repairs from your little stunt from the last time."

"Then I'll just take the other one." Cagalli said.

"Too late." Johanna said, pointing to Sky Grasper 2.

Cagalli turned her head. Liz closed Sky Grasper 2's cockpit as the crews loaded the Sword Striker onto it.

"Sit back and wait while we get this one fixed." Johanna said.

"So, do we know what we're up against?" Chris asked as he powered up the Raven.

_"It's squad of DINNs."_ Miri said.

"DINNs?" Chris said, checking the Raven's computer.

_'A transformable, atmospheric mobile suit.' _he thought as he read the profile on the computer. _'Just like the Raven.'_

_"The Captain has given the go ahead for the Raven and the Sky Graspers to launch. The Strike will remain on standby._" Miri said. _"The Z.A.M. Gundam and Wing Zero have also been cleared to launch."_

_"But-"_

_"Relax Kira. There's not much you can do in this situation anyway. The Strike can't fly in the atmosphere or swim."_ Mu said.

_"Alright."_

The Raven loaded onto one catapult as Mu's Sky Grasper was loaded onto the other catapult.

"Raven Gundam, launching." Chris said, launching the Raven.

When the Raven cleared the catapult, it transformed into its mobile armor mode. Mu's Sky Grasper followed, launching from the other catapult. A few minutes later, Liz's Sky Grasper was launched.

"Nisha Itsuno, Z.A.M. Gundam, taking off!" Nisha cried, launching his machine as well.

Not too long after, the Z.A.M. Gundam landed on the top of the _Archangel_ while Wing Zero took to the air.

The DINNs were already upon the _Archangel_, firing their assault rifles on the vessel. The _Archangel_'s Igelstellungs and missiles returned the fire. The DINNs dodged the incoming fire.

_"Chris, you take the one on the left. Liz and I will get the one on the right."_ Mu said. _"I think Heero's got a few ideas of his own to add as well."_ The man noted as Wing Zero flew past a DINN while firing on it. The machine went down as soon as the bullets hit the engines.

"Alright." Chris said, heading for the left DINN.

"So this is the Raven, one of the Earth Forces new mobile suits." Commander Morassim said, firing on it.

The bullets little effect on the Raven's phase shift armor. "You gonna need something a lot stronger than that." Chris said, firing back.

Morassim dodged the fire. "Damn. These mobile suits are as tough as they say." Morassim said. "GOOhN Team, are you in position?"

_"Yes sir."_ one of the pilots replied.

"Then fire!"

A pair of GOOhNs fired a barrage of torpedoes at the _Archangel_. The _Archangel_ rose into the air, avoiding the torpedoes. But the GOOhNs began firing on the now airborne _Archangel_. The Strike, standing on the end of an open catapult, fired its beam rifle at the GOOhNs, but they dove underwater, avoiding the beams. The GOOhNs surfaced and fired again. One missile struck the Strike, knocking it back. "Chief Murdoch, didn't we get a bazooka from the Eight Fleet?"

_"Yeah. Why do ya ask?"_

"Could you get it for me?" Kira said. "I'm going underwater."

_"Diving? But kid, the Strike wasn't designed for that. It'll-"_

"I know that. But we have no choice." Kira said. "We have to do something."

A few minutes later, the Strike, armed with a bazooka, stepped onto the catapult. The catapult activated, launching the Strike into the water. The Strike fired at one GOOhN. But underwater, the Strike was slow while the bulky GOOhNs were fast and agile. The GOOhN avoided the rocket while its comrade slammed into the Strike from behind. The other GOOhN fired a pair of torpedoes at the Strike, hitting it. Kira fired back, but again the GOOhNs dodged his shots. More torpedoes hit the Strike. The first GOOhN slammed into the Strike. The second one followed suit, tackling the Strike. But this time, Kira managed to grab on, losing the bazooka in the process. He pulled out one of the Strike's knives and stabbed the GOOhN's back, piercing its armor. He let go of the GOOhN. With a breach in its hull, the GOOhN was crushed by the water pressure, like a tin can.

In skies above, the DINNs were struggling against the Raven, the Sky Graspers, the Z.A.M. Gundam, Wing Zero, and the _Archangel._ One DINN fired on the warship. The _Archangel_ fired back with a barrage of missiles. The DINN dodged the missiles. But the pilot was so occupied with dodging the missiles he didn't notice Sky Grasper 2 coming at it from behind. The large anti-ship sword sliced through the DINN. A split-second later, the two halves exploded. Debris rained downed on waters below.

"Dammit." Morassim cursed as he dodged incoming fire from the Raven. "What's taking the GOOhN Team?"

The remaining GOOhN slammed into the Strike, dropping its knife from the impact. Kira swore as more torpedoes struck the Strike. He with the loss of his last knife, he was out of weapons. Suddenly, he spotted the sinking remains of the DINN, especially, the rifle still being clutched by the DINN's arm. The Strike moved towards the arm, pulling the rifle from hand. The GOOhN tackled the Strike. Kira slammed the rifle barrel into the GOOhN's chest and squeezed the trigger.

Commander Morassim dove low, avoiding the Raven's fire. Ahead of him, an explosion from underwater appeared. Wreckage from a GOOhN surfaced. "What? They've been wiped out?" Morassim said.

Suddenly, a round from the Raven's railgun tore through the DINN's left wing. "Damn. Time to withdraw."

His DINN took off, heading back to the Varnass. He had been beaten this time. But next time, he'd destroyed that legged ship personally.

Kira stared at the wreckage of the GOOhN. His thoughts were once again on Commander Waltfeld. _'I hate this. I hate this whole war. But if I don't do this...'_

* * *

Laurasia_ Class Frigate, Tsuigara_

_In Earth Orbit_

_The Next Day_

_"Gibraltar Weather Service reporting sunshine with a high of twelve degrees, humidity of forty-five percent. Wind is from the west-northwest, at twenty-seven kph."_ the com-officer reported to the pilots sitting in their mobile suits in the hanger.

"Then hurry up and launch us already." Saul said.

Nicol chuckled_. "I forgot. You don't like orbital drops."_

"Shut up. They make me sick to my stomach." Saul said.

Athrun started to laugh. "Hey! You shut up too, Mr. Can't Stay Awake For One Little Concert."

Nicol started to laugh. _"He's got you there, Athrun. He didn't fall asleep like you did."_

_"Attention. Deploying atmospheric re-entry capsule in T-minus ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One."_

They all felt the slight shutter as the hanger was detached and began its decent to Gibraltar. Saul groaned as they started entering the atmosphere. He hated going through the atmosphere.

* * *

Archangel_ Bridge_

"There's no doubt about it. Those suits couldn't have any place other than a submarine carrier." Mu said.

"A submarine carrier?" Murrue said.

"ZAFT's Vosgulov class submarine to be exact." John said, a mug of coffee in his hand. "Carpentaria is too far for them to be able to find us, attack and return. And had they been launched from a normal sea carrier, we would have picked them up. So that leaves a submarine carrier. This is the first time this ship has been on water, which means the crew isn't experienced in naval operations and isn't use to using sonar. They're following us. Sooner or later, they'll attack again."

"Any idea on who it is?" Mu asked.

"Well...I've been out of the loop for months, so I only know who was stationed in this region six months ago." John said. "It could be Commanders Marco Morassim or Zack Messa. Or it could be some other commander. Either way, we'll have to take them out the next time."

"Any ideas?" Murrue asked.

"Give us some time." Mu said. "We'll come up with something."

* * *

_Gibraltar Base_

The drop capsule door opened. The Blitz, the Aegis and the Surge exited the capsule and lined up alongside other mobile suits.

"Gah..." Saul said as he exited the Surge's cockpit.

He was thankful that he had made sure that he avoided eating anything before the drop. Otherwise... He shuttered at the thought of losing his breakfast with his helmet on.

"Hey come on Saul!" Nicol shouted. "We suppose to meet up with the rest of the Team."

"I'm coming. I'm coming." he said as he descended from the cockpit.

The three made their way to the briefing room where the rest of the Creuset Team was waiting. "Please sir! Listen! I can get him! I know it!" they heard Yzak shout as they opened the opened the door.

"Calm down Yzak. You're acting far too emotionally." Le Creuset said.

"Yzak...That scar..." Athrun said, staring at the large scar on his face.

"Wow. Well, you ain't a pretty boy no more, Scarface." Saul said, chuckling.

Dearka laughed and Nicol chuckled as well.

"Shut up!" Yzak shouted as he shot death glares at him.

"Shame it only improved your looks and not your attitude as well."

Yzak looked ready to tear him apart. "The wound has healed." Creuset said his words breaking up the potential fight before it happened. "However, he's decided to keep the scar as reminder until he's destroyed the Strike."

"Now that we're all here, why don't begin the briefing sir." Zane said from his chair.

"Yes. Everyone take a seat." Creuset said. "The Earth Forces' legged ship is heading to the JOSH-A Base in Alaska. You must stop them before they reach their HQ with the data they've acquired. However, that mission has been assigned to the Carpentaria Base."

"But sir! That's our job!" Yzak said. "It's unfinished business!"

"I agree with Yzak." Dearka said. "That legged ship is our business."

"I agree as well. They've humiliated us again and again." Zane coldly said. "We should be the ones to destroy that ship and its mobile suits."

Creuset waved his hand. "Needless to say, I feel the same way." he said. "I have to prepare for Operation Spitbreak, so I must remain here. But if you we that strongly about it, why don't you go try it yourselves."

Yzak instantly grinned. "Yes sir!" he said.

"Then well form a Team consisting of Yzak, Dearka, Zane, Athrun, Nicol and Saul. And your commander will be...Let me see...Athrun. I'm putting you in charge."

The announcement of who the commander was did not please Yzak, who scowled at Athrun, while everyone else was surprised by the announcement.

"I'll assign you to a submarine in Carpentaria. You should leave immediately."

"But why me Commander?" Athrun asked.

"That ship has been a real thorn in our side. It will not be easy." Creuset said, putting a hand on Athrun's shoulder. "I'm counting on you, Athrun."

Creuset then left, saying, "Good luck." as he left.

"So now we're the Zala Team?" Dearka said.

"I don't know. I kinda like the name." Saul said. "It's a nice ring to it."

"Hmph. This should be good." Yzak said, his voice dripping with annoyance and sarcasm.

"Yeah, it will be good. Certainly, a lot better than being the Joule Team." Saul said.

"Hey!"

Athrun wasn't listening to the two. His thoughts were on the Strike and Kira. The next time they met, he'd have no choice but to destroy him...

* * *

_The Archangel_

"Ma'am, we have a sonar contact at 7o'clock. It's a mobile suit signature." Chandra said.

"Have you identified them?" Murrue asked.

"Two GOOnHs and...one unknown."

"All hand to Level One Battlestations!" Murrue ordered.

The ZnO and the two GOOhNs approached the Archangel from under the water. Morrassim grinned. "They're traveling in shallow waters. Perfect for this ZnO. And since Le Creuset's already landed, we better sink this ship now!"

Torpedoes from all three machines streaked towards the _Archangel_. The _Archangel _rose into the air, avoiding the torpedoes. The GOOhNs surfaced and began firing on the ship. The _Archangel_ fired back, but GOOhNs dove underwater, avoiding the attacks.

Inside the _Archangel_'s hanger, Cagalli was picking a fight with Chief Murdoch, who was refusing to let her pilot the fighter again.

"Just let her pilot the thing already!" John shouted from the cockpit of his repaired and repainted GINN.

"Stubborn girl." John mumbled as he sat down and powered up his machine.

The Sword Striker was loaded onto the Strike while the Launcher and Aile Strikers were loaded onto Sky Grasper 1 and 2. John's GINN was equipped with his sniper rifle and a GINN sword. The first two Sky Graspers were then loaded onto the catapults with the third one waiting behind the first to go.

"Alright. Listen up girls. The three of us are gonna hunt down their carrier while the mobile suits stay to defend the Archangel." Mu said.

_"The name's Cagalli."_

_"Jeez. Are you always this high-strung?"_ Liz said.

_"I'm not high-strung!"_ Cagalli shouted back.

_"Yes you are."_ Liz said. _"It's a very repelling feature of yours. I doubt there are many people that find you attractive because of that attitude."_

_"Shut up!"_ Cagalli shouted as the first Sky Grasper took off. "_I bet you're now gonna try to hook me some with guy you know."_

_"Nah. I don't know any good guys that would date you. Truth be told, I've never been attracted to guys."_ Liz said. _"Elizabeth Dante. Sky Grasper 2 launching."_

_"Wait...What? Was she trying to hit on me?"_ Cagalli said as the Sky Grasper took off.

Chris started laughing. _"No."_ he said. _"While she does swing that way, she doesn't find you attractive in slightest. I think she said that you're too much like a guy for her taste."_

_"For the last time, I'm a girl!"_ Cagalli shouted as her fighter was loaded onto the catapult.

_"Personally, I think the jury's still out on that."_ Chris said.

"_Yeah, judging by the way you act."_ Nisha quipped.

_"You should have seen her in that dress at Andy's place. If it wasn't for her mouth, she would have been the perfect little lady."_ John said.

Cagalli let out a loud growl. _"Whatever! Cagalli! Sky Grasper 3 launching!"_

John chuckled. _"Alright boys, here is the game plan. Kira, you're gonna drop into the water and battle the mobile suits directly. Try to force them to the surface. Chris, I want to keep the Raven in its mobile armor mode, to serve as an atmospheric platform for my machine. We'll try to pick them off as they attack from the surface. Nisha, you take any that try to attack the _Archangel_. And Heero…well…he'll just do his own thing."_

_"Right."_

_"Got it."_

"_Sounds good."_

"_Hn."_

The Raven and the once again gray Farsight were loaded onto the catapults.

_"Chris Dante, Raven launching."_

_"John Alaric, Farsight launching."_

The two mobile suits were launched into the air. The Raven transformed into its mobile armor mode and the Farsight landed on it, its sniper rifle ready to destroy the ZAFT mobile suits.

_"Kira Yamato, Strike Gundam launching."_ Kira said as the Strike was launched into the air.

"_Nisha Itsuno, Z.A.M. Gundam, launching."_ Nisha said as the Z.A.M. Gundam was also launched.

In a roar of fire and sound, Wing Zero also took to the air not even a second later.

The Strike dropped into the water below while the Z.A.M. Gundam landed on the _Archangel_. Wing Zero followed the Strike, diving into the water via its Mobile Suit form. The GOOhNs fired a barrage of torpedoes at the Strike. Kira avoided the torpedoes and swung his sword a GOOhN. The GOOhN was too fast however, and dodged the sword, racing past the Strike. The Strike turned around, firing it's Igelstellungs at the passing GOOhN. The second GOOhN fired its phonon laser cannons at the Strike. Kira raised his shield, blocking the beams as he moved behind some rocks. Suddenly, torpedoes struck the rock he was behind, destroying it and knocking the Strike back. A ZnO appeared, transforming into its mobile suit mode. "I got him." Morassim said. "You guys go after the ship."

As the GOOhNs did so, Wing Zero sped towards them, stunning Morassim. "A new machine?! How the hell did the Earth Forces develop so many in such a short amount of time?!"

In response, the machine, Omega One, drew out its beam saber, which was not supposed to work underwater, and _ignited the blade!_

The ZnO fired its hand cannons at the Strike as the GOOhNs headed towards the _Archangel_, only to be stopped by Wing Zero's engagement with them. Kira barely dodged the beams before the ZnO lunged at him. "I'm gonna tear you apart with this ZnO!" Morassim shouted, swinging a clawed hand at the Strike.

Kira blocked the hand with his sword. But the larger machine swung its other hand at the Strike, swatting it like a fly. Torpedoes hit the Strike. "Gah! It's too strong!" Kira said as the cockpit shook violently.

* * *

_Gibraltar Base_

Athrun waited in the passenger compartment of the transport plane as the pilots went through their final check. The others had left hours ago. But his plane had been grounded because of mechanical problems that they had only just fixed.

_"Fasten your seat belt."_ the pilot said over the intercom. _"We're ready for take-off."_

Athrun fasten his seat belt. It was a little humiliating that the first day of his first command had been plagued with a mechanical delay. If he was superstitious, he might have taken it has a bad omen about his command...

* * *

_Battle Site_

The Sky Graspers flew over the water, searching for the submarine carrier that the mobile suits. Unbeknownst to them, the Varnass was already preparing to surface, so it could launch its DINNs at the _Archange_l. "There it is." Mu said.

The Sky Graspers each fired off an anti-sub missile at the submarine. The missiles struck the submarine. The submarine surfaced, its three vertical mobile suit catapults opening. DINNs were preparing to launch.

"Oh no, you don't!" Mu said, firing the powerful Agni cannon at the sub.

The powerful beam tore through the sub. A massive pillar of fire and smoke emerged from the submarine. Moments later, it exploded.

_"Did we get it?"_ Cagalli said, staring at the pillar of smoke and fire on the water.

Suddenly, a DINN emerged from the smoking, firing on Cagalli's Sky Grasper. Cagalli barely avoided receiving a fatal blow. But the DINN managed to hit her fighter. Mu fired on DINN, causing it to move away from the damaged fighter.

"Are you okay?" Mu asked.

_"Yeah."_ Cagalli replied. _"It's only my navigation system."_

"Head back to the _Archangel_, we'll handle the DINN." Mu said.

_"No. I can still fight."_

"Head back! You're only getting in the way now!" Mu shouted.

_"Fine."_ Cagalli growled, heading for the _Archangel_.

"Liz, can you keep him busy?"

_"Yeah."_ Liz replied, firing on the DINN.

The DINN evaded the bullets and beams of the Sky Grasper and returned fire. Liz took a sharp dive, dodging the DINN's fire. The DINN took aim at the diving fighter. It was about to fire, when Mu fired the Agni cannon at the DINN. The mobile suit never stood chance against such a powerful gun. The DINN was destroyed instantly.

"Got him!" Mu said triumphantly. "Come on, let's head back to ship."

* * *

A GOOhN surfaced and fired on the _Archangel_. A trio of rounds pierced the head area of the mobile suit. The GOOhN exploded. "That's one." John said as the Raven and the Farsight flew over the wreckage. "Now let's get the other ones."

Another GOOhN rose and fired a trio of missiles at the Raven's underbelly, causing both mobile suits to fall into the water. Chris swore as the Raven sank under the water. The GOOhN slammed into the Raven. Chris held onto the front of the GOOhN. "This isn't the Strike." Chris said. "The Raven's guns aren't beam weapons."

He jammed the barrels of his railgun into the GOOhN's underbelly and fired. The rounds tore clean through the GOOhN's body. A second later, it exploded, pushing the Raven back.

"Damn. I hate fighting underwater." Chris said, heading for the surface.

Heero just grunted as the GOOhNs he was fighting fired torpedoes at Wing Zero. Two of the shaped charges hit the shield and the leg of his machine, but the Gundanium held, even under the water. "You know nothing about combat, even underwater." Heero noted in an emotionless voice. In a series of three strikes, the GOOhN that had fired on him was disabled and sinking. The pressure of the increasing depth eventually caused the machine to compress and explode while the second GOOhN retreated to safety, only to meet the same fate not a minute later.

Elsewhere, the battle between the Strike and ZnO was still raging. A wave of torpedoes struck the Strike, knocking it back. Kira tried to get the Strike back up, when the ZnO, in its sub mode, slammed into the Strike, taking it along for the ride. Suddenly, the Farsight appeared in the ZnO's path, its sword drawn.

"What? A GINN?" Morassim said.

The ZnO was moving too fast for Morassim to stop it in time. The GINN held its sword out like a spear. The blade impaled the left shoulder plate of the ZnO, but didn't manage to reach the arm underneath it. The Farsight was knocked down by the racing ZnO, breaking its sword in two. The top section was still in the shoulder plate while the lower half remained in the Farsight's hand. But as the Farsight fell down, it grabbed the Strike's leg, pulling from in front of the ZnO. "Finish him off." John said.

The ZnO transformed back, turning towards the two mobile suits. Kira fired the Sword Striker's grappling claw at the ZnO. The ZnO swatted it away as it charged towards the Strike. The ZnO's hand grabbed the Strike's head, pushing the Strike onto the sea floor with its weight, its photon cannon charging.

"Oh no you don't." Kira said.

He drew the Strike's knives and drove them into the area between its head and torpedo tubes. The Strike then, using a leg and both hands, threw the ZnO off of it. The ZnO exploded.

"Good work kid." John said. "Let's head back to the ship."

* * *

_Elsewhere_

"Is the way back to the _Archangel_?" Cagalli said to herself as she tried to get her bearings.

That's when she spotted it. A ZAFT transport plane. "What's that doing out here? If they're reinforcements, then I have no choice but to shoot it down."

One of the ZAFT plane's turrets fired on her. Cagalli turned away, preparing for a strafing run.

"Damn. Hurry up and get into your mobile suit." the transport plane pilot said to Athrun. "If comes to it, we'll eject you and your mobile suit."

"But-"

"Go! We'll be a disgrace to ZAFT if we take our cargo down with us." the pilot said.

"Alright." Athrun said, heading for the cargo hold.

Cagalli scored a direct hit on the plane's right wing. But one of the turrets hit Cagalli's Sky Grasper. Both aircraft started to go down.

"Damn. We were fools to think we had air superiority." the ZAFT pilot said. "I can't hold it much longer. We have to eject you."

"What about you?" Athrun said as he began to power up the Aegis.

"Don't worry about us. We'll bail out once we lighten our load."

The cargo hatch opened and the Aegis was ejected from the plane. Elsewhere, Cagalli frantically struggled to keep her fighter in the air for as long as possible. She spotted an island. She knew her only chance was to land in the waters near it. If she survived the crash, that is.

Cagalli screamed as the Sky Grasper hit the water, skimming across the waves. The fighter came to a stop in the shallow waters of the island.

Cagalli breathed a sigh of relief. "I made it."

She tried to get in touch with the _Archangel_. The fighter's radio was dead. Seeing no other choice, she swam the short distance to the island. Nothing left to do but wait for rescue...

* * *

_Aboard the _Archangel

_An Hour Later_

"Where did we lose Cagalli?" Murrue asked. "Anything on the radio?"

"No ma'am. Nothing." Miri said.

"There's too much radar interference." Chandra said. "So far, I can only confirm that she left the combat zone."

"Should we list her as MIA?" Natarle asked.

"I think you're jumping to conclusions, Ensign Badgiruel." Murrue said. "How much longer until sunset?"

"An hour ma'am."

"Once the maintenance on the Strike and the Raven are complete, send them out to search the area for her." Murrue said. "Send out Wing Zero as well. The Z.A.M. Gundam will remain on stand-by."

"But Captain-"

"If you object, then feel free to write it your report." Murrue said, interrupting Badgiruel. "I'm not giving up on her that quickly."

Heero heard her words, making him look up at her. "I will go and search." He said.

Murrue and Badgiruel looked at him, stunned and what he was suggesting. "Are you crazy?! You can't possibly fly for such a long distance without recharging your mobile suit!"

"You would be surprised." Mu noted. "That machine of his has all sorts of surprises, so it should not be taken lightly or underestimated."

That made her shut up.

"Very well, Heero. I will allow you to go and search for Cagalli." Murrue said. Badgiruel made to object, but remembering Mu's words, shut her mouth and did not say anything more.

Wing Zero took to the air, flying around and farther from the _Archangel_ than the Raven and Strike could go. But something told Murrue that it would be some time before even Wing Zero could find Cagalli…

* * *

_Several Hours Later_

Chris yawned as he walked back to quarters. Their search for Cagalli had been fruitless. The ocean was a huge place. She could be anywhere. But Kira was insistent that they had to keep on searching for her. And truth be told, if he wasn't so tired, he would have backed Kira and Heero up. But it was getting late and he was drained from the battle earlier today. How Heero Yuy could go for such a long time, he had no idea, and he didn't want to know either.

"Hi, Chris." Flay said with smile, approaching him.

"Hey. What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Well...There's something I want to tell you...But I'm...I'm just not sure how to say it..." she said hesitantly.

"Then say it."

"Well...I've been thinking about things since we left the desert and...I...I..."

_'What's she so nervous about?'_ he thought as Flay tried to speak.

Suddenly, Flay's lips met his own. He knew it was wrong. That they shouldn't be kissing. But all thoughts instantly melted away. He stood there, stunned for a few seconds before he responded, his arms wrapping around her and returning the kiss.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Sai had walked into the hallway at that very moment...

* * *

Chapter is done. I want to note that the chapters will be getting longer from here on out, reaching maybe seventeen to twenty pages average length, with the only exception being Phase 15, which I had to actually write from scratch. It will be a vital chapter though, as it has some scenes that are vital to the overall plot of the story. Please read and review. Constructive criticism is appreciated, no matter what. I need to know how I can improve on the story, and if it can be made better. Also, no flames, aka hate-filled reviews, are to be given, as they **_will_** be reported and/or deleted depending on if they are signed or not. Just the usual warning is all.


	15. Phase 14: Land of Peace

Phase Fourteen: Land of Peace

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :3**

**Just a Crazy Man: Glad you enjoy it. :3**

**CT7567Rules: Glad you liked it. :3 And for the answer about the theme song, no I am not changing it because I find this song fits perfectly with my series. :3 And Heero will work with your OC in the second arc. :3**

**A0930: Yes, Cagalli meets Athrun here and Heero is indeed the only pilot sent here. :3**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, the feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

**Now, I want to ask you readers a question. What should I improve on in my story? There will be a Poll up on my profile, so go vote as soon as you have read the story. Everyone who votes should also leave a review, just so I know who is reading my story. I am almost at 50 reviews. I want to reach that number, so read and review PLEASE!**

**Anyway, read and review!**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

_Hidden location…_

_Unknown Pacific Island…_

Athrun groaned as he opened up his machine's cockpit. The Aegis had landed on the island after ejecting from the transport, so no one knew where he was. The sunlight hit his eyes as he took off his helmet, making the Coordinator squint in the bright rays.

A glint caught his eye, making Athrun look over. "Is that a Sky Grasper?" The plane was in the water not too far off, a form swimming away from it towards the island. Athrun was immediately tense. The pilot was no doubt of Earth Forces origins. That meant he could be killed in an instant if the man was armed.

Cagalli panted as she reached the sandy beach, her wet hair hanging in her eyes as she looked around the scene. Off to the side was one of the stolen machines, making her growl in anger. "Damn it! ZAFT's here!"

The cockpit opened, revealing the Coordinator inside. He was a red coat no doubt, and that was trouble. _'Damn it all! A ZAFT ace, here of all places?! I'm screwed over if he sees me!'_

And she was right.

* * *

_Wing Zero, search grid area…_

Heero looked over the readouts as he flew Wing Zero in a systematic grid search pattern, trying to find Cagalli in the limited time he had. "Grid 01 completed, moving on to grid 02."

In a few turns, Wing Zero moved onto the next grid search.

* * *

_Pacific Island…_

Cagalli grunted as the ZAFT pilot ducked behind a series of rocks to avoid being killed as she opened fire on him. The bullets hit the rocks, but he peered out anyway, despite knowing the risks. Cagalli then heard a noise from behind her and turned around, only to see a glint of metal and a form ambush her.

She was knocked to the ground, only to see the ZAFT pilot on top of her. Having no weapons because her gun was knocked away, she did the only thing she could do. She screamed.

"What? A girl?!" The knife stopped mere inches from her heart.

"Yes, I am a girl! What is with you men?!" Cagalli snarled back.

* * *

_Wing Zero, search area…_

With the light fading rapidly, Heero knew that he could not rely on visual data and search much longer. That meant he would have to use sensors and other methods of tracking down Cagalli in order to find her. He looked over the sensor reading, confirming that there was no life in the area. "Grid 04 completed, moving on to Grid 05."

As he moved on, thunder rumbled in the distance…

* * *

_Island…_

The ZAFT pilot looked back at the girl who was now tied up on the sand as he walked over to his pack. "So, are you really with the Earth Forces? Or are you with NASA, because I have never heard a soldier scream like that before." Athrun remarked as he tried to wrap his own wound.

Cagalli just remained silent before she looked away. "I'm with no one. I just hitched a ride on their ship, that's all."

Athrun struggled with the bandage before he finally managed to get it tied. He then stood up and left Cagalli behind him as the rain began to fall.

* * *

_Unknown base…_

A group of forms sat around the table, plans on the piece of furniture before them. "We still need time!" a female voice exclaimed as a hand was slammed onto the plans, covering the image of three machines that were still undergoing repairs.

"We know that, but the war is moving too rapidly to finish the project all at once. We'll need to do it in stages in order to reach the final result. If we don't we'll just be bogged down and unable to deploy them until after the war has ended. We need that firepower _and_ energy now!" a male voice snapped back. The female form relented, unable to believe this.

"I understand, but if we rush the repairs and recalibration, then those things will not be as effective as they once were!" the female snapped back. "If we let the project be delayed any more than it already is, then we will never gain the advantage we need over the other groups!"

Her superior sighed, knowing that she was right.

But who knew how long it would be before they themselves were attacked in retaliation…

* * *

_7th Fleet, en route to Gibraltar…_

Akira sat in his room, looking at the image of the ZAFT pilots he had graduated with. Yzak, Nicol, Rusty, Dearka, Athrun, himself… All of them stood, smiling and looking at the camera. A carefree smile was on his face in the picture, yet he was not feeling that way anymore, not after what he had gone through. And not after the others learned where he was from…

-_Flashback-_

_Yzak looked back at the other ZAFT red, who had yet to be assigned to a unit of his own. There was an uncertain look on his face, making the silver-haired pilot smirk._

"_So, where's your unit?" he asked in a snarky tone. The black-haired youth just glared back, a hardened look in his golden eyes. "Hey, just leave him alone, Yzak. He'll get his unit soon enough." Rusty replied._

_Yzak just grunted once. "Yeah…sure he will. I mean, who would accept a Coordinator from Earth? What nation is he even from, one of those who hate us?" he inquired, making the pilot he was speaking about twitch._

"_Not from what I heard. He could be from ORB. At least, that is what I heard anyway." Dearka replied. Yzak just looked at the pilot in question. "Are you? Are you an ORBie pilot?"_

"_No…"_

_Yzak and the other four pilots looked at him in confusion. "Then where are you from?" Nicol asked._

_The pilot addressed looked up, a hardened look in his eyes. "I'm from…the United States."_

_Dearka blanched, awe spreading through him, with the other four staring in shock as Yzak shook his head as if he didn't hear correctly._

"_You're from…_THE_ United States?!" he exclaimed. The black-haired boy nodded. "Then, aren't you supposed to be the elite of the elite, the best of the best and all that stuff?" Nicol inquired._

"…_We are not the best of the best, nor are we the elite of the elite. We are just a normal nation, so back off! I am not better than you!" the golden eyed youth replied._

_-Flashback End-_

Even then, the other ZAFT pilots refused to stop calling him the elite of the elite. Aki' closed his eyes as tears came forward, as he was unable to accept the label he had been given. The U.S. was called a paradise for Coordinators, and those that lived there were considered to be better than Naturals and other Coordinators in general, according to the radical faction anyway…

"Why…why must the others in the PLANTs think of the U.S. as superior to other nations?" he murmured. But deep down, he knew that as long as the radicals existed, they would continue to think that.

Akira put his head in his hands, confusion filling his mind. He was unsure of where is loyalties lay, which was the result of what he had heard in Commander Waltfeld's office in Africa.

'_Why would ZAFT want to wipe out all Naturals? What is there to be gained from such a move? And how does Commander Le Creuset figure into all of this? I just want to know!'_ he thought as he put his head down on the desk of his room.

"Maybe…if I remain with ZAFT…I could find the answers…?" he did not receive an answer to his question. Silence filled the room, blanking out any thoughts he had left…

* * *

_Island…_

Down on the island, Athrun was sitting in the cockpit of the Aegis as the rain fell. Launching a radio buoy, he hoped that ZAFT would find him before the EA, ORB, or even NASA found him. Even with the buoy active, he was unable to get any response over the static-filled channel. _'Great, the air-waves are useless.'_ He thought with disdain as he recalled the N-Jammers were still in effect.

Looking out of his machine, he noticed a movement in the small stream next to the stolen G-Weapon. Zooming in, he could see the EA pilot trying to stay alive among the rising waters around her. "Better help her before she drowns…" Athrun murmured as he shook his head in disbelief. With that decided, he moved his machine's shield over her to keep her out of the rain.

Slowly, he got out of the cockpit and walked down to the girl. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Trying not to drown, for your information!" the girl shot back. "Will you stop standing there and help me up?!" Athrun obliged. As he did so, a small crab wandered out of her hair and into his hand. When she was standing, the girl hopped out into the rain.

"What are you doing?" Athrun inquired, now confused.

"I'm trying to get the sand off of me!" she snapped back as Athrun walked up to her and cut her free. Now it was her turn to be confused. "What are _you_ doing?"

"Without your weapons, you're no threat to me." He replied. "And you have a visitor."

The girl looked down, and upon seeing the lump under her shirt, lifted it up, only for a crab to fall out. "I guess your right…" she murmured as the ZAFT pilot blushed.

* * *

_Grid search area…_

"Grid C10 cleared, moving onto C11." Heero murmured as he maneuvered Wing Zero to the next grid square.

* * *

_Island…_

"Well, it looks like we'll be spending the night here. The air-waves are useless due to the N-Jammers being active." Athrun explained as he tossed a piece of wood onto the small fire he had built. Cagalli, the girl who he had shot down, sat in a blanket, as most of her clothes, save for her undergarments, were drying by the fire.

"Well, that's because your people came and attacked the Earth with the N-Jammers, which led to countless deaths for millions of civilians around the world!" Cagalli snapped back.

Athrun just glared at her. "Well, that's because the Earth Alliance attacked Junius Seven for no reason!" he snarled back. "Did you really think we would sit back and do nothing?!"

* * *

_Undisclosed location, unknown nation…_

A female form looked out at the stars that twinkled in the sky above the big white mansion she now inhabited. The sky was peaceful, unlike the world below and around her.

She turned away and walked into the depths of the mansion, the lights inside guiding her along the hallways that would otherwise be pitch black. Green eyes reflected a grim determination that now demanded action, the soft face hardened from five years in the armed forces. Brown hair hung over her eyes, and was pulled back in a braid that hung over her back. The young woman was only thirty-seven years old, with no political experience save for what she had learned in the last two years as president. Yet she was already a leader that was not to be taken lightly, and those who had met her knew it.

A man of forty-four years walked up beside her, his black hair slicked down as to look more presentable. Blue eyes reflected nervousness, and the youthful face was laced in worry. "President Hilson, are you still thinking about breaking away from the alliance with ZAFT?" he asked.

United States President Marie Hilson looked at her Vice-President, a hard look in her eyes. "Yes, I am. You need to understand, Vice-President Jason Young, that we are not going to go along with those in ZAFT and the PLANTs who wish to try and wipe out all Naturals. And the way things are going, that radical faction may be in power sooner than we think." She snapped back.

U.S. Vice-President Jason Young realized the grim truth in her words as he looked down, wondering just _how_ they were going to end the fighting. And given their past with the PLANTs and EA, it was not going to be easy, especially considering the debate over New Juneau…

-_Flashback-_

"_You WHAT?!"_

_President Hilson cringed slightly at the raised voice of the AEU leader, the British Prime Minister. And it did not help that the two nations had once gotten along so well._

"_We had no choice. They are a U.S. territory, yet if they were attacked, no one would stand aside in respect of it. Everyone would attack it at that point. But, if they are a U.S. State, then they will be safe from an attack. New Juneau is _our_ colony, _not_ the PLANTs' colony. You got that? So if we decide to give them statehood, then it is _our_ decision to make, _not_ yours!" she snapped back._

_The Prime Minister just huffed at the explanation. "While they may be your colony, they are _still_ a PLANT. _That_ makes them a part of the PLANTs, whether you like it or not. Therefore, if you make them a state, then you have given _all_ of the PLANTs protection from us!" he snarled._

_President Hilson felt her anger rise, but she pushed it back under her control. "Look, while New Juneau may be a PLANT, the colony's inhabitants are still American citizens. They deserve to be treated as such, and giving them statehood is the only way we knew how. Even the declaration of the colony being a U.S. Territory was not enough to prevent an attempted attack on it. _THAT_ is why we gave them statehood." She replied smoothly._

_The British leader just growled before he turned and left the room. But the president got the feeling that no one had won the war of words…_

_-Flashback End-_

The issue of New Juneau was just the tip of the iceberg, they both knew. And it would only get worse from there…

* * *

_Island…_

Back in the cave of the island, the argument flared to Heliopolis.

"Please understand; we only wanted the Mobile Suits. We did not want anything to happen to the colony!" Athrun pleaded.

Cagalli just huffed. "But you did. You attacked and destroyed the colony!"

Athrun could not believe this girl. "Well, the Earth Forces went and made it a target by having the machines built there! We are only fighting to protect the PLANTs, our home!" he countered

The blonde-haired girl just glared at him. "I am doing the same thing!"

The fire danced around, giving a soft light to the two of them.

"My…mother was on Junius Seven…" Athrun began slowly. "It was only farms there, and yet the Earth Forces went and killed everyone! Men, women, children, all dead in an instant flash…"

"Oh…"Cagalli looked down, suddenly feeling guilty. "I'm sorry…I've lost friends too, but never like that…"

Both then looked up as a familiar sound was heard.

* * *

"Grid E9, heat signatures detected." Heero noted as he flew Wing Zero down towards the island. The system zoomed in on the small cave entrance, which had the Aegis by it. Instantly, he picked up Cagalli and Athrun both.

"Missing personnel member found." He confirmed.

Cagalli came out in a towel, looking up only to see a machine she knew from the _Archangel_. "Wing Zero…"

Athrun looked at her in surprise, but he did not show it to her. Looking at the Aegis, he knew he would not be able to get to it in time.

As the machine came down onto the beach, Cagalli walked up to its landing area. "Heero…" _'Why did he come for me? Didn't the _Archangel_ write me off like most EA people would?'_

Wing Zero's cockpit door opened, only to reveal the man that was the pilot. "Drop the gun; I'm only here for Cagalli." He said as his arm showed a gun aimed at the ZAFT pilot.

"Cagalli?" Athrun asked.

"That's my name." Cagalli replied. Athrun handed his gun to Cagalli as Heero lowered himself to the ground. Athrun then raised his hands in surrender.

"I, Athrun Zala, hereby surrender to the Earth Forces." He said. Heero just narrowed his eyes at the statement.

"I am not with the Earth Forces. And from what I have heard, the Earth Forces would no doubt shoot you, even if you surrendered and were unarmed." Heero replied, his voice lacking any emotion.

"What? But you fight with the _Archangel_!" Athrun exclaimed as he lowered his hands.

"That may be true, but it is only because they took me in when I had no place to go." Heero explained.

"Why would you have nowhere to go?" Athrun asked.

Heero just raised his gun at the Coordinator. "It's best if you do not ask that, otherwise I will have to kill you." He growled back.

Cagalli just put a hand on Heero's arm in a reassuring manner. "It's okay Heero. He won't try anything."

Heero just looked at her before he lowered the gun. "He can't know about where I am from…" he snarled before he pointed at his machine. "Get in. I will grab the Skygrasper before we leave."

"We're taking the Aegis too," Cagalli pointed out. Heero just looked at her with an emotionless look.

"No. He still needs that machine. I will not leave someone to die for no reason, and that includes him. I have seen too much death already…" He said as looked down. Cagalli just stared at him before she got into the cockpit of Wing Zero.

As Heero entered the cockpit, Athrun called out to him. "Why are you, a Coordinator, working with the Earth Forces?"

The young man looked down at the ZAFT red. "I am no Coordinator. And I told you, they took me in when I had no place to go. I owe them a debt that can only be repaid by helping them out in return." He replied.

'_He's a _Natural_?!'_ Athrun could not believe that the young man before him was unenhanced. "But…how can you beat us Coordinators?" he asked.

"I was…'trained' from birth to be a soldier. And with my machine, I can beat just about anyone who wishes to fight me." Heero replied. _'Especially with the Zero System…'_

Athrun stared as Wing Zero's cockpit closed, the machine grabbing the Skygrasper before taking off in a roar of fire.

"Why would you not let me take the Aegis?" Cagalli asked as Wing Zero headed back towards the _Archangel_.

Heero did not look at her as he spoke. "I do not want to have someone who can be saved die on their own, nor do I want to see him die for no reason, especially on a deserted island." He replied.

Cagalli then looked around, as if feeling like someone was watching her. "Um…do you ever get the feeling like you are being watched?"

"That is Zero, or at least, the system observing you." Heero explained, but to Cagalli's surprise, there was the faintest hint of a smirk on his face, even if it was so small it was barely even registered there.

* * *

_Archangel_…

"Wing Zero is on approach." Sai exclaimed as he picked up Wing Zero's IFF on the radar.

Captain Ramius looked at Sai, shock on her face. "What? Has Heero found her?"

"Archangel_, I have Cagalli onboard with the Skygrasper in possession."_ Heero announced as Ramius and the bridge crew felt relief and jubilation rising in their chests.

"Bring her in," Captain Ramius sighed, a smile on her face.

* * *

While Heero was searching for Cagalli, other things were occurring on the ship as well.

After hours of being on duty with no break, Sai, Tolle, Miri, Flay, and Nisha were finally having their dinner. With the search for Cagalli now hold until morning, the Captain had ended their shifts for the night. While everyone else was devouring their meals, Flay was hardly touching her food. "What's wrong, Flay?" Sai asked.

"Nothing...It's nothing." she replied.

Sai knew something was bothering her, but didn't press it. Ever since they left the desert, she had been distant from just about everyone. Expect for Chris. Sai might have been a bit concerned about what was going on between the two of them, if it hadn't been for Chris's words to him after they first landed on Earth, when he was first concerned about the two of them being alone together.

_"I have no intention of stealing Flay from you, Sai." Chris said. "I'm just trying to help her out with her grief over her father's death. You are arranged to be married. I'm not gonna come between you two. You have my word."_

And he managed to brighten up Flay's mood after her father's death. So he was thankful to Chris for his help. And yeah, maybe a little jealous at the amount of time Flay had lately been spending with Chris.

"Excuse me. I'll be right back." Flay said, standing up.

"Flay? We're you going?"

"Ah...I just need to do something." she said, heading for the doorway.

"What?"

"...Nothing Sai." Flay said as she left.

Now Sai was growing worried. Why was Flay acting so strange lately? Sai couldn't sit back anymore. He was going to find out what was bothering her. He sat up. "Excuse me. I'm going to see what is bothering her right now." he told the others.

He left the mess hall. He wasn't sure where she went. He figured he'd start at the crew quarters first. A couple minutes later, he rounded a corner and saw...Flay and Chris embracing and kissing.

Sai was shocked. His Flay was kissing one of friends. A friend that swore that he won't try anything like this.

They finally broke free of their kiss, but here still in a loose hug. Flay's back was to him. "Flay...I...I..." Chris mumbled, trying to speak. Then he looked up and saw him. "Sai..." he said in horror and guilt.

Flay broke the hug and turned around. Her expression was the same as his. But Sai was too hurt and betrayed to notice. Sai found himself at a loss for words. "Flay...Chris...Why...WHY?" he shouted. "Were you lying to me this whole time, Chris? How long have you been doing this behind my back?"

Chris knew he should have let Flay kiss him. He should have pushed her away. But he hadn't. Instead, he kissed her back, as much as he wanted to deny it. To ignore it. To reject it. He had fallen for her. He didn't know how or why he had fallen in love with her, but he realized he didn't care how or why.

God...It was like some bad soap opera.

"Sai...I'm sorry." Chris said, trying to reason with him. "I never wanted to come between you two...But...I...I...I never meant to fall in love with her...It just happened-"

"SHUT UP!" Sai screamed, tackling Chris.

The two fell to the ground, Sai landing on top of him. Chris raised his head, only for Sai's fist to hit him. More punches hit his face. Sai knew nothing about fighting. In fact, he was pretty much your average nerd. Smart, not all that physically strong. But he was furious, fueling his strength. After receiving a few more blows to the head, Chris grabbed one of Sai's incoming fists and punched Sai in face, knocking Sai off of him. Chris stood up, wiping the blood from his nose. "Listen to me, Sai. I never meant for this to happen. I never wanted to come between the two of you. It just happen-GAH!"

Sai's leg shot up, hitting him in the place that hurts regardless of whether one was Coordinator or a Natural. Now he was beginning to get mad. Sai just wasn't listening to anything he said. Sai got up and punched him again. Chris grabbed his fist and punched Sai in the stomach. Sai stumbled back and Chris followed up with more punches. One last blow to Sai's face and he fell to the ground. "I think you've had enough." Chris said, leaning up against a wall, breathing heavily.

Sai was lying on the ground, breathing just as heavily. Flay just stood there with an expression of horror and guilt on her face. "Well...Are you two done slapping each around? Or are you going to go at it a bit more?" John said, standing some feet behind him.

"I'm done." Chris said.

Sai didn't say anything.

"You teens and your hormones." John said, moving towards the two. "You're almost as bad as Cagalli. Almost."

He helped Sai up to his feet. "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up. Girl...Flay, right?"

"Ah...Yeah..."

"Why don't you take Chris and help get him cleaned up."

A few minutes later, they were in the men's washroom. He was leaning over a sink while Flay was wiping the blood from his face with a damp cloth. His lip and nose were bleeding. There were a few bruises forming on his face as well.

Chris sighed. "We shouldn't have done that. You're arranged to marry Sai. And I'm his friend. I swore this won't happen." he said. "Yet it did. I didn't want it to happen. I didn't want to admit it when it did happen. But the truth is, I began to feel something for you."

"I've realized, for a while now, that my feelings for Sai were never truly love. I thought those feelings were love, but when I started to spend more and more time with you, I found myself feeling true feelings of love and it wasn't for Sai. It was for you." Flay said. "But I didn't want to hurt Sai like that. I wanted to break it up with gently."

"Looks like it's a little too late for that." Chris said with a sigh.

* * *

_A few days later…_

The _Archangel_ shuddered as another shot from the Buster impacted the hull. The Strike and Farsight, on top of the _Archangel_, fired at the speeding machine, making smoke pour out of its engines. The crimson GINN fired at the ship, making more shots impact along the hull. The Raven, in its Mobile Armor mode, sped after the Guul-mounted GINN as a pair of Skygraspers chased the Buster.

The Z.A.M. Gundam, on the open catapult, fired at the Wing, which was in its fighter form as it raced around the airspace of the _Archangel_.

Wing Zero, on the other hand, was in the water, raging battle with the other four machines of the 7th Fleet. Heero grunted as his machine dodged the Diver's swipes from its battle staff, only to be impacted by the knives of Heidi's machine. Moving back, Heero pulled out Wing Zero's beam sabers to engage the enemy. Slashing at Heidi's GINN, he removed the left arm, making her lose one of her weapons. Not wanting to lose further weapons, Heidi pulled back, only for Tao to dart in. Firing the Danketsu Gatling guns, she managed to make Heero move back.

"Saul, Nicol, take out the engines as you flank the ship!" Athrun ordered. If the ship was crippled, then they would be dead in the water and would have no choice _but_ to surrender.

"_Target the Guuls, those flight platforms!"_ John ordered, firing his rifle. _"They can't fight us if they aren't in the air!"_

The Blitz and Surge raced around the sides of the _Archangel_, either dodging the missiles or shooting them down. Nicol fired off the lancer darts his machine had, striking one of the ship's Valiants. The gun exploded, damaging the ship even more. Before the machines could fire on the engines, a pair of beam shots made them move back. Looking down, Saul was shocked to see the machine, Omega One, partially out of the water, beam rifle aimed. He tried to fire on the machine, only for the enemy to dive back under the water.

"Damn it…how can that thing function underwater?!"

Suddenly, the Raven appeared above them. "You're not taking out this ship!" Chris shouted as he turned the Raven into its mobile suit mode.

It fell like a rock on the Blitz. The black machine was knocked off the Guul as the Raven landed on it. Nicol screamed as the Blitz fell into the ocean. "NICOL!" Saul shouted as the Raven turned its attention on him.

The machine ducked and fired as Saul fired his beam rifle. The beams shot over the crouching machine as a pair of rail-gun rounds tore through the Guul. The Surge joined the Blitz in the water. Destroying its own Guul, the Raven turned back into its mobile armor mode.

Meanwhile, the Duel swooped down on the _Archangel_ as it fired on the Strike. "I'm gonna get you, Strike!" Yzak yelled.

The Strike fired, hitting the Duel's Guul. The Guul exploded, but Yzak continued to let the Duel fall towards the _Archangel_.

"That's one stubborn pilot…" John murmured as he had his machine leap into the air.

Yzak dropped his beam rifle and reached for a beam saber, but he was not fast enough to avoid the next move.

"But too much stubbornness can be a weakness too!" John cried as he kicked the Duel away from the ship.

"GAH! Damn it!" Yzak snarled as he fell into the water as well.

The Farsight then fell towards the water, but the Raven swooped in and grabbed it before depositing the machine on the _Archangel_. "Thanks," John said. "Keep firing on the Guuls. We can win this."

While this was happening, a large ORB naval fleet approached the battle. The Archangel and the mobile suits were nearing ORB territorial waters. The ORB flagship hailed all of the combatants.

"_This is a warning to the Earth Forces warship, its mobile suits and all ZAFT mobile suits. You are currently approaching ORB Union territory. Alter your course immediately. In defense of our neutrality, we strictly prohibit all armed ship, aircraft and mobile suits from entering our territory. Turn your forces around at once." _the ORB Commander said.

Zane smirked. It was over. The legged ship was doomed. Either they would sink the ship or ORB would do it for them.

_'Damn. We're stuck between a rock and a hard place. We stay on our path and ORB blows us out of the water. But even if we turned away, with the damage we've received, we won't be able to survive the next attack.'_ John thought.

_"I repeat. Alter your course immediately. This is your last warning. If you do not, we will exercise our right to defend our nation."_

Cagalli, who had entered the bridge with Kisaka, said, "Don't listen to him. Keep on heading towards ORB."

She grabbed Sai's headset. "Who the hell do you think you are, saying that crap after seeing the mess we're in?! The _Archangel_ is going to enter ORB territorial waters, do not attack us!"

Athrun immediately recognized the voice on radio as the same as the girl he spent that night on the island with.

"Ah...Hell..." Chris said. "She's gonna piss off the ORB military and then we're really gonna be screwed."

_"Who is this?"_ the Commander asked, his face appearing on the screen.

"Who the hell are you?" Cagalli shouted back. "If you can't figure out who I am, then contact your superior! Contact my father! Contact Uzumi Nara Athha!"

This announcement stunned everyone. The crew of the Archangel, the ORB fleet, the ZAFT forces, everyone.

"I am Cagalli Yula Athha!"

"What? She's the daughter of the Lion of ORB?" Chris said.

"Apparently, our Overemotional Goddess, is in reality an Overemotional Princess." John said. "I didn't see that one coming. Of course, she could just be trying to confuse them to the point that they'll let us enter their territory just to straighten things out."

_"I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but there's no way the daughter of the Lord Athha would be on that warship._" the Commander said, closing the line.

"Like we're gonna let you enter their territory in the first place!" Dearka said, firing on the _Archangel'_s engines.

"Damn pest!" Mu said, firing at the mobile suit.

Dearka fired at the Sky Grasper as it flew past him. Dearka took aim at the fighter. "I got you now!"

But before he could squeezed the trigger, the second Sky Grasper, armed with the Sword Striker, came up on him from behind. The large blade extended, ready to slice the Buster in half. "Shit!" Dearka cursed as he tried to maneuver out of its path.

Dearka managed to pull the Buster out of its path. But the anti-ship sword sliced off his Guul's right wing, causing it and the Buster to fall to the ocean.

"Yeah! I got him!" Liz cheered.

Nisha fired on the Wing, making Aki' cry out as a missile hit the left stabilizer. The wing released smoke as he flew off, making Nisha look down in guilt. Below the water, the other four machines of the 7th Fleet had retreated due to power drainage, prompting Wing Zero to emerge and land on the _Archangel_.

But the damage was done. The _Archangel_ could no longer maintain its altitude with the damage it sustained, forcing it to land on the ocean. Specifically, in ORB territorial waters. The ORB fleet immediately started to take up positions alongside the damaged vessel, preparing to fire on it.

"It seems we have no other choice." Kisaka said to Murrue "Don't worry. The gunners of ORB's Second Defense Fleet aren't known for their accuracy."

_"Since you have disregarded our warnings, we have no choice but to open fire."_

The ORB fleet fired on the _Archangel_. The Raven landed on the _Archangel_'s hull, alongside the Strike and the Farsight, the Z.A.M. Gundam and Wing Zero on either side of them. "This can't be good." Chris said as rounds struck the waters, dangerously close to the _Archangel_.

_"Actually, they're not trying to hit us. It looks like things may just be turning in our favor."_ John said as the bombardment rained around them.

Both Athrun and Zane weren't stupid enough to try something now. Their only choice was to fall back with the others.

Once the ZAFT forces were long gone from the area and they had gotten a bit deeper into ORB waters, the ORB warships stopped firing at them and instead, escorted the _Archangel_ into a hidden dock on Onogoro.

"This dock is owned by ORB and Morgenroete." Kisaka explained. "Not even satellites will be able to locate the _Archangel_ once it enters the dock."

"First off, I want some explanations." Murrue said. "Just who exactly are you?"

"Ledonir Kisaka." Kisaka said, snapping to attention. "Captain in the 21st Airborne Division of the ORB Military. I am Lady Cagalli's bodyguard."

"Then you really are Chief Representative Athha's daughter."

"Yes." Cagalli said.

Murrue sighed. "What's going to happen now?"

"I believe it would be better to ask the person who'll be coming here shortly. ORB's leader, Uzumai Nara Athha." Kisaka said.

* * *

_Aboard the _Cousteau

_An Hour Later_

"This announcement is nothing but a pile of crap!" Yzak shouted, slamming his hands on the table.

"I can't believe they expect us to believe that the legged ship has left their territory." Dearka said. "They're treating us like fools. Maybe it's because we have a raw commander."

"Dearka. Don't blame Athrun for this." Nicol said.

"Yeah Dearka." Saul said. "If we had stayed, they would have blown us up as well."

"But at the same time, we cannot allow the legged ship to escape yet again." Zane said. "We should have finished them off when we had the chance."

"That's all irrelevant." Athrun said. "You can't deny that ORB has given us their official response. Complain and call them lairs all you want, it won't change the situation."

"What?" Yzak shouted.

"This isn't like Heliopolis. ORB's military might and advanced technology is great for us to simply force our way in." Athrun said. "If we forced our way in, it would only be a diplomatic nightmare for ZAFT and we'd be lucky to escape from there."

"Your analysis is impressively rational, Athrun...Oops...Commander Zala." Yzak sarcastically said.

"Hold on. Are you saying we should just accept their word and leave?"

"We'll ask Carpentaria to apply some official pressure. If that does not resolve the situation quickly enough, we'll sneak in." Athrun said. "Does that meet with your approval?"

"Ah...So we can pinpoint the ship's location." Nicol said.

"Sounds like a good idea to me. So long as this doesn't turn out like Heliopolis." Saul said.

"I agree." Zane said. "If we find proof that they're hiding the legged ship than that changes everything."

"Very well. I'll go along with this. For now. But if it were up to me, we'd be forcing our way in. I can't disagree with the son of Committee Chairman Zala, now can I?" Yzak said, leaving the room with Dearka. "Who knows, maybe I'll get a chance to see the face of the Strike's pilot."

Athrun's expression immediately saddened. He knew Kira was piloting the Strike. And once again he felt himself torn between his duty to ZAFT and his friendship to Kira.

* * *

_Orb Parliament Building_

_Onogoro Island_

Murrue, Natarle, Mu and John had been led to an empty conference room, where they waited. The door opened. Uzumi Nara Athha and two older men entered the room. The first older man was wearing an ORB Military uniform, a General based on the markings, and appeared to in his sixties but was in excellent shape. He was taller than Athha and quite muscular. His body was that of a lifelong soldier's. He had short, gray hair and matching thick, bushy mustache. His eyes were a familiar grayish-green. The second man wore a butler's outfit, with grey hair and blue eyes. He was seventy-seven years old, even older than the second man.

"Hello. I am Uzumi Nara Athha. And this is my close friend and advisor..."

"General Samuel Dante. Currently serving as the liaison between Morgenroete and the Orb military." the man said.

"Dante?" Mu said. "As in-"

"Yes. I am the grandfather of Christopher and Elizabeth Dante." Samuel said. "You have my thanks for watching over them. As well as my daughter-in-law. With the death of my youngest son, they're the only family I have left."

"You're welcome." Murrue said.

"Now that we have the pleasantries out of the way, it's time to deal with the matters at hand." Uzumi said. "Our official statement is that our naval forces fired upon the _Archangel_, driving it from our waters."

"Do you really expect ZAFT or those pilots perusing us to believe that?" John asked.

"No. But they cannot disprove what we have said. And it is unlikely that they'll try any military action without concrete proof that we are lying to them." Athha said.

John nodded. "Because if they didn't, they'd be invading ORB without a legitimate reason. Something ZAFT can't afford to do with their manpower."

"Exactly." Samuel said. "If they attack us, they'll have to draw vital forces from other theaters of war. Which is something ZAFT can't afford to do here on Earth. For all their superior mobile suits and technology, they still lack the numbers necessary to truly defeat the Earth Alliance. And then there is NASA to deal with. If ZAFT tried to attack us, then they would have to deal with a nation that many have only feared and respected for years in the past and today."

"You didn't save us just because we had your daughter on board, or his grandchildren for that matter, did you?" Mu asked.

"Do you honestly believe that either of us would risk that fate of a nation and its people for the sake of three children?" Uzumi said.

"Excuse me, if I implied that sir."

"Things would be so much easier if it were only that simple." Attha said. "Heliopolis. The children of this nation that volunteered and ended up joining the Earth Forces. The success of G-Units in battle after battle. I've thought over this again and again. Would it have been wiser to just let that ship and its mobile suits sink? And even at this very moment, I'm still wondering if I've made the right choice."

"Lord Uzumi, I'm terribly sorry. About Heliopolis and the children. I know my words on this matter aren't an official apology, but from a personal stand point, I am deep sorry for what happened." Murrue said.

"No. Forget it. There's plenty of blame for us to share. Since this is also an inherent problem of our nation. The reason we maintain our stance as a neutral nation is that we don't want to face Naturals or Coordinators as enemies. We cannot carry out these intentions without power. And yet with power, we become a target. I'm sure, as soldiers, you don't want to have this type of discussion."

"In any case, we should explain to you why we didn't let your ship be destroyed." Samuel said. "We would like all of the Strike's, the Z.A.M. Gundam's and the Raven's combat data as well as the loan of their pilots, Nisha Itsuno, my grandson and the Coordinator, Kira Yamato, for technical cooperation with Morgenroete. We're willing to provide you with extensive assistance with your repairs if you agree. Of course, we would also like the loan of Heero Yuy and his machine's combat data as well."

"For once, I have to disagree. Heero will never give up his machine's combat data, but I'm sure he would be willing to help out with the other machines." Mu replied, making everyone look at him. "His machine will self-destruct if it is tampered with."

Murrue hesitated. "Lord Uzumi, we'd like some time to discuss the matter."

"Very well then. We both have some matters to attend to." Attha said. "You'll be escorted back to your ship for now. We'll come by tonight for your answer."

* * *

_The Archangel_

A number of people were gathered in crew quarters of the Archangel, watching Cagalli, now clad in a dress, fighting with a servant as they started to leave the ship. Chris and Flay were at the back of the group, avoiding Sai as much as they could. Neither of them had spoken with Sai since that night and had pretty much avoided him.

"Holy crap!" Chris said. "She's a girl!"

Most of the crew started laughing or chuckling at his comment. Cagalli growled. "Why the hell do you people keep on saying that?"

"Because it's amusing." Chris said with a grin.

* * *

_Captain's Quarters_

_The Archangel_

_A Short While Later_

"I'm against this." Natarle said. "This nation is dangerous."

"Here we go again." John said under his breath.

"And what do you propose?" Mu asked. "Getting off here and swimming to Alaska? Or have you forgotten that NASA is even more dangerous than ORB?"

"No, of course not. That's not what I'm suggesting." Natarle said. "I think that we should pay for the repairs."

"I understand what you're getting at. But..."

"But that won't be the end of it. They never mentioned it to us, but I'm sure they're under tremendous pressure from ZAFT. Yet they still made the decision to help us. You realize why that is, don't you?" Murrue said.

"Indeed." John said, sipping his coffee. "They must be having some kind of problem with their own mobile suits. Something that those kids apparently fixed. Don't worry, I'll go with them and keep an eye on them. If you agree, of course."

"We have little choice but to accept their offer."

"Whatever you say Captain, seeing as I don't have any authority to do anything about it. But this matter will be going in my report." Natarle said before leaving the room.

"Man. And I thought Diana was a cold woman." John said, downing the last of his coffee. "But that woman is like a glacier."

* * *

_Early the Next Morning_

Unbeknownst to the majority of Orb's citizens, a trio of mobile suits was walking towards the Morgenroete Headquarters in dawn hours. Chris yawned. _"Man. Could it have been that hard for them to get a couple of transport trucks for us? We could have easily gone through the front door rather than this twisting side route at five in morning."_

John, who was riding in the car leading them to the facility, laughed. "I suppose Lord Uzumi wishes to keep this as low key as possible."

Heero, who was riding in the back seat, just grunted once. "Hn." He had his hands behind his head, eyes closed.

_"Why does it matter?"_ Chris asked. "_By the end of the day, everyone at Morgenroete will know we're here."_

"_Yeah. Our low-key cover will be blown."_ Nisha remarked.

"True. But it's better to be safe than sorry." John said. "We don't know if the Le Creuset Team bought ORB's story or if they're out there, waiting for us. Personally, I doubt they bought it. They're waiting for us to leave ORB. Those guys aren't the kind to just give up. Especially if that masked creep, Le Creuset is with them."

_"So they'll be waiting for us when we leave ORB, then?"_ Chris asked.

"Likely." John said. "When we're done here, get yourselves some R and R. Cause it's unlikely that we'll get a break until we reach JOSH-A. Those guys will likely be hounding us all the way to JOSH-A."

"_Great…"_ Nisha moaned.

Chris yawned again. _"Meh. Whatever. Let's get this whole thing over with."_

A short while later, the Strike, Z.A.M. Gundam and Raven were secured in a Morgenroete hanger, deep underground. Johanna Dante and another woman, clad in a Morgenroete crew chief uniform approached the trio. "Hello. I'm Erica Simmons. Welcome to Morgenroete." the woman greeted.

"So this is the heart of Morgenroete." John said. "Where the Gundams were first conceived."

"Yes." Erica said, leading them into another hanger. "Though they were built in Heliopolis, this where it all began."

"Oh that reminds me. I have something for you." John said, searching through a pocket of his coat.

He pulled out a disc and handed it to Erica. "What is this?" she asked.

"When we were in the desert, I studied the schematics of the Strike, Z.A.M. Gundam and the Raven, and came up with some...interesting things. However, I can't do anything with what I've come up with, so I'm handing it over to those that can use it."

"You're an ex-ZAFT commander, right?" she asked, inspecting the disc.

"Yes. Don't worry; I have no intention in rating out ORB to ZAFT or anyone else. Or handing over ORB technology to the PLANTs." John said. "You hold in your hands the only copy of what I've made."

Erica handed the disc to Johanna. "See what's on the disc for me." she said.

Johanna nodded. "Right."

Johanna left as they entered the hanger. Inside the hanger were mobile suits. Ones they had never seen before. They were similar to Strike in appearance. But they were clearly a new model. Kira, Nisha, Chris and John all stared at the machines in amazement. Heero was emotionless as ever, but there was bit of amazement in his eyes. "Admiring the Astrays? They're impressive, but nowhere near as impressive as your machines." a man voice called out. "It's been awhile Chris."

Chris's eyes immediately widened. He turned to the large man in an ORB uniform approaching them. "Grandpa?"

Samuel smiled and hugged his grandson. "It's good to see you alive and well. When I heard what happened at Heliopolis, I feared the worst." he said.

Samuel turned to Kira. "And you must be Kira Yamato. I am General Samuel Dante. Chris's grandfather." he said, shaking Kira's hand.

Kira noticed something odd about his gaze. But he couldn't place it. "Ah, hi."

General Dante then turned to Nisha. "And you must be Nisha Itsuno." He remarked as he held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you." Nisha said as he took the older man's hand and shook it.

"Ah…you must be Heero Yuy…Nice to meet you."

Heero just shook the man's hand once before he looked away.

Samuel turned to John. "I don't know you."

"Officially, I'm Victor Cain. Unofficially, I'm John Alaric."

"ZAFT's Black Hawk? They say that you and Tiger are dead." Samuel said.

John sighed. "I'm alive. But Andy's dead."

"Ah. General Dante, I wasn't sure if you were going to join us this morning." Erica said.

Samuel grunted. "You know how politicians and bureaucrats are. Constantly arguing and passing blame on everyone else. There are those that still want us kick the _Archangel_ out as means to avoid a war with ZAFT. Damn, cowardly Seirans. Say what you want about the Sahaku, at least they have some backbone in them." he said. "If war comes to ORB, it will come and there'll be nothing we can do to prevent it."

"Have you explained the Astrays yet?" Samuel asked.

"No. I was about to."

"I'll do it." Samuel cleared his throat. "These are the M1 Astrays. A mass produced mobile suit from Morgenroete that will serve as ORB's primary frontline mobile suit. As you can see, it shares many characteristics with the Strike. And Morgenroete is currently in the design phase of another machine that will share characteristics with the Raven."

"Now you see the true face of ORB. The so called neutral nation." Cagalli said, approaching the group.

Kira, Chris and John all noticed the red mark on her right cheek. Samuel chuckled. "I see the stubborn little Lion Cub of ORB had a fight with the Lion of ORB again."

Cagalli scowled at him. "These machines are to be ORB's protectors." Samuel said. "As you know, ORB will not attack another nation. Or allow another nation to attack it. Nor will it become involved in the conflicts of other nations. With these machines, we have the power to ensure that just belief."

"That's the kind of nation ORB is. Or at least, that's what it was supposed to be until my father betrayed it." Cagalli said.

Samuel sighed. "Again with this. You're as stubborn as your father. Not even he can knock some sense into you." he said "You know that isn't true. He never knew about the mobile suits being built at Heliopolis-"

"Shut up! That is not an acceptable excuse! He was the Chief Representative!" Cagalli shouted. "Not knowing about the matter is a crime as well."

"Which why he stepped down as Chief Representative, handing it over to your uncle." Samuel said.

"Like that changed anything."

"You just don't get, do you? ORB needs Lord Uzumi right now." Samuel said. "Ever since this war started, ORB has been in a difficult position. With our Mass Driver and advanced technology, both ZAFT and the Earth Forces have pressured us to choose a side in this war. A weaker leader have buckled under the pressure and submitted to one of the sides, pulling ORB into this war. Lord Uzumi has chosen the only path that stays true to ORB's principles."

Samuel turned and started walking away. "Come. Let us get to work and leave this stubborn, foolish, little girl."

Cagalli let out a growl but ultimately, followed him and the others out of the hanger. A short while later, they entered the control room of the Mobile Suit Testing Chamber. A trio of Astrays were standing in the Testing Chamber. Erica put on a headset. "Asagi, Juri, Mayura, begin your drills."

The mobile suits activated and proceed to move through their exercises. Movements were slow and pathetic. It was like they were moving underwater. Cagalli sighed. "Those three haven't changed at all. They're still just as slow."

"Actually, they're twice as fast now." Erica said. "Though you do bring up our problem. Though we have the mobile suits, we're still struggling to come up with an OS that allows a Natural pilot it on a similar level as Coordinators."

"And you need our help because we both rewrote the Operating Systems of our machines." Chris said

"Exactly. We need your assistance in this matter." Erica said. "Mainly Heero's help though, as he is a Natural as well. If you all can help though, then that would be greatly appreciated."

"Okay. Let's get to work then."

* * *

Elsewhere, a pair of fishermen waited on some rocks on the shore. A group of scuba divers emerged from the waters and approached them. The lead diver pulled off his mask. "Athrun Zala, of the Le Creuset Team."

One of the fishermen smiled. "Welcome to the Land of Peace." the ZAFT spy said.

* * *

Chapter is complete. I want to encourage people to leave reviews so that I can reach at least 50 of them. Also, twists and turns become more common from here on out. So keep reading peoples, and don't forget to leave reviews as well! Anonymous reviews _are_ enabled, so please review as soon as possible! R&R! ^^ Also, flames and any other form of hate-filled reviews that are not relevant to the story **_WILL_** be reported and/or deleted depending on if a review is signed or not.


	16. Phase 15: Fires of Betrayal

Phase Fifteen: Fires of Betrayal

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**A0930: Glad you liked. :3 As for the questions, the other machines have to return for power charges. Wing Zero does not. No, no love triangles here. I do not do those, sorry. :( It will be Kira who helps develop the Natural-use OS, but with some aid from a surprising source revealed in this chapter. :3 And thanks for the input. :3 Anything that helps is appreciated. :3**

**Guest: No, no more characters as I have too many already! DX Sorry. :(**

**Ken Wise: No, he will not learn to pilot to get Flay back. That is too vain for even someone like Sai.**

**Fuyu Aki: Glad you could join the group of fans of this story! :D No, no love triangle will exist. I do not do those. :(**

**Just a Crazy Man: No, no super strikes or extra Strike Rogues. Sorry. :(**

**CT7567Rules: You will see that soon enough...;3**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. XD**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, the feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

**Anyway, please read and review!**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

_U.S. West Coast…_

Sparks flew from a welder as people worked on repairing the side of a ship that had been struck by an Earth Alliance warship. Away from the bustle of the repairs, civilians went about their normal lives, seemingly unaffected by the war. They went to work, the store, school, etc. as the sun shone overhead. The sunlight reflected on the flag flapping in the breeze, the red, white, and blue standing out strongly. The red and white striped flag, with the white stars on the blue field, was their pride, and their symbol. It was respected, as well as feared, and it was their strength of power...and it was a symbol that even the feared Earth Alliance leadership trembled in fright at…

* * *

_ORB, Morgenroete…_

Heero stood near a computer console as Erica Simmons looked over the data that was on the screen. "I just don't know how we are going to get this OS to work the way we want it too." She groaned as she put her head in her hands.

"…" Heero was silent, his eyes on the console screen. He could see several big flaws, even for him. "Your operating system is flawed."

"I know that!" Erica snapped back. "Why do you think we are trying to get this to work?!"

Heero did not say anything as he looked at her. "…"

Erica sighed as she turned away from him. "We're just under a lot of pressure right now."

"The system does not work."

The woman looked at Heero. "Did you not hear what I said?"

"I did, but it does not work. Your programming is all wrong. The movement timers are off, the sensitivity to the controls is not at sufficiently higher levels, the strength requirements are too high for a normal human, and the complexity is way higher than it should be." Heero explained.

Erica looked at the parameters on the screen, wondering if he was right. "It is possible, but the OS _was_ originally incomplete…" she mused. "If only we had some of the OS's used by NASA, then we could do a comparison and find out if it is true or not."

Heero looked back at where the _Archangel_ was. _'If they can't develop an OS for the Naturals here, I may be forced to give them the OS for Wing Zero. And that I wish to avoid…'_

* * *

Nisha looked over the pictures of him and his mother he had out, wondering why she had to die like that. "Why mom…why did you have to die that day…" Tears fell on the photo, which was smiling back at him eternally.

Deep down, he wondered why he had not joined ZAFT in the aftermath of the Bloody Valentine. At least then he would be with Aki' again…

The thought of his cousin sparked rage, but to his surprise, he was not as mad as he thought he would be. Nisha knew why his cousin joined ZAFT and why he betrayed them at Artemis, but that still did not make him feel any better.

Fists clenched as he felt tears run down his cheeks. Nisha was not the type to act on anger or emotion. He acted on logic and facts, which was how he was able to hold his own against his cousin. But still, he had acted, trying to get Akira to see that what he was doing was wrong. But the other Coordinator was too stubborn to listen to reason, hence why Nisha was fighting him at the moment.

'_Families torn apart, friends fighting one another…how much more twisted can this whole war get?'_ There was no answer.

* * *

_7th Fleet ship _Constitution_…_

Akira looked at the image of his sister that sat on his computer desk, a distant look present in his eyes. He unconsciously touched the necklace she had given him, unaware of the motions as he did so. How he missed her so…

The Coordinator often wondered why Nisha had not joined ZAFT in the aftermath of the Bloody Valentine, but every time he thought about it, he came to the same conclusion: Nisha would never want to fight out of revenge on those who were never involved.

He clenched the necklace, his hand closing around it tightly. Those Blue Cosmos bastards would pay for what they did that day, as well as for what they did in the Bloody Valentine. He would make sure of that, permanently…

* * *

_NASA PLANT, New Juneau…_

Men and women moved around the interior of the colony, getting work done or just talking with co-workers who were visiting from Earth. No one could see the inside of the PLANT though, as it was blacked out to the outside world. Not even the PLANTs that they were among could see inside, and for very good reason: New Juneau was not an ordinary PLANT.

It did not have just the interior of a normal PLANT colony. No, the inside was much more complex and much more elaborate than a normal PLANT. There were no small cities or tiny villages. Instead, there were sprawling suburbs surrounding large office buildings and hotels. Schools were inside the suburbs, as were stores and places to eat. But that was just one side of the PLANT. On the other, there were farms for the colony's people to grow their own food. And because it was grown inside the colony, the people living there could get food that was even fresher than that brought in from Junius City.

Roads connected the houses and buildings like in any other PLANT, but that was the only similarity. Everything else about New Juneau was far different than any other PLANT by far.

NASA's only PLANT was also home to a part of the armed forces, so it was also an armed forces base. The commander of said armed forces base looked out at the PLANTs not too far off. While they could not see in, the NASA PLANT citizens could see out. She smirked to herself, wondering what the ZAFT leaders would say about their…_situation_…to the populace of the other PLANTs if they wanted to paint them as an enemy. As if they could actually do that, considering the precarious…'circumstances' they were in.

Still, it was an uneasy situation at best. If ZAFT tried to attack them, then they would be facing the wrath of only one nation on the planet below…their home…

That was what she wanted to avoid. But given Wu's tendencies…they may not have that much time in safety left…and that was what bothered her the most…

Wu…that man bothered the commander more than anything, given his Coordinator Supremacy ideas. She shivered at the thought of his treatment of the Coordinators in New Juneau. He treated them like they were the greatest things in the universe, when they were just like any other Coordinators for that matter. Why did it matter that they came from…their home? They were not superior to other Coordinators, and yet Wu believed that they were. "Damn his ideology…" she cursed. It irked her to no end, and that was why she wanted to take the man down, yet she could not. No, not yet…

* * *

_Morgenroete, ORB_

Heero looked over the OS as Erica sat at the computer desk. "So…can you figure out a way to make a better OS?" she asked.

"…" Heero was silent as his blue eyes flew over the specs that were currently up. "It will not be easy, considering we don't have an OS from NASA to compare this to."

Erica put her head in her right hand. "What about your machine's OS?" she asked as she sat upright. Her companion whirled around, his eyes wide a bit before they became hard. "My machine's OS is _not_ being released to be used!" he snarled. "Besides, your pilots would not be able to handle it, as it is only made to match my abilities."

The older woman looked down, not sure of what to say. "I…didn't know…" she began. Heero sighed and placed a hand on the arm of her chair. "Look, I just want you to know that Wing Zero is much too advanced for you to understand. That goes for the OS too." He explained.

Erica glanced back at him, and then looked at the OS before her. "So…what do you think should be done?"

"I believe that if we can get an OS sample from NASA, then we can develop a proper OS for you to use. And I know where to go to get it."

"Where?"

"NASA."

Erica stared in shock before she stood up. "Absolutely not! Imagine how they would react if they found out it was ORB who was after the OS! They would be absolutely furious with us, not to mention they would attack us just to get it back!"

Heero just stood up and proceeded to leave. "I will get that OS, whether they want me to or not, and whether you want me to or not."

With that, he left.

* * *

_NASA, West Coast…_

_Three hours later…_

Heero flew low to the water as Wing Zero sped towards the west coast of NASA. "Target base in range…twenty miles and closing…"

Wing Zero's eyes flashed, Heero slowing down. "I know, Zero. But it is a risk we have to take, considering the situation we are now in. Plus…we need to repay the _Archangel_ somehow, and this is the best way we can so far."

"Ten miles and closing…"

On shore, people were running to their machines, boarding them and powering up the systems as the unknown machine reached their shores. Heero flew overhead, turning Wing Zero to its main form from jet form as he came in to land. Scanning the ground below and around him, Heero was surprised to find tanks instead of mobile suits.

"Odd…I was told that NASA had mobile suits, not tanks…" He murmured before a voice he knew all too well came into his head. *_Enemy behind.*_

Whirling, Heero pulled out his beam saber and brought it down, just in time to block a pink beam saber held by a…tank-like…mobile…suit…! Jumping upwards, Heero avoided having Wing Zero's legs sliced off. "Now I see…their tanks _are_ their mobile suits…" he mused as his eyes narrowed.

"_Attention unknown mobile suit! Surrender at once, or we will be forced to open fire. Repeat, surrender at once, or prepare to be fired upon!"_ a man's voice barked over his com-line. Cutting off the com-system, Heero just pulled out the Buster Rifle and fired a low-powered shot. The blast missed three tank-mechs, but it made them move back in wariness.

Heero landed Wing Zero, only to get into a defensive stance. The trio of tank-mechs ran at him, but Heero opened fire with the shoulder-mounted Gatling guns. Bullets struck the machines, but did little damage. One however, lost an arm to the barrage as the bullets hit the joint section.

"So…the joints are vulnerable…" Heero noted before he ducked behind Wing Zero's shield. A powerful cannon blast hit the defensive piece of equipment, the force trying to push Wing Zero back into a wall. The blast subsided, revealing a still intact shield, which moved to reveal the Gundam unharmed.

"Damn him…" a pilot snarled as he got ready to do a charge into the unknown assailant. "He's going down!"

In a single move, the tank-mech pulled out its beam saber, ignited the blade and thrust the sword towards the enemy. Heero pulled Wing Zero's own beam saber and ignited the green blade before bringing the blade up to counter the thrust. Pink met green as the two clashed, throwing heat into the air between the two machines.

With a grunt, Heero pulled out the other beam saber and ignited it before bringing it down on the other machine's pink one. Using the dual blades, Wing Zero forced the tank-mech to move back before breaking the sword fight off. The tank-like machine landed not too far from the Gundam, eyeing it warily. Heero pulled out the Twin Buster Rifle before firing at the machine's legs. Jumping back, the enemy machine avoided the beam, only to meet the beam saber of Wing Zero in mid-air. Slashing quickly, Heero sliced off the arms and right leg, forcing the machine to land on its back with a _THUD_.

Moving back from the damaged machine, Heero was quick to note the other machines coming at him from two sides. Storing the Buster Rifle, he pulled out the other beam saber and brought up both green blades to counter the dual beam sabers that came at him. Both sabers sparked as the two machines tried to get at him. Heero ignited Wing Zero's engines, their protective coverings opening up just as a small dust storm was kicked up. Using that to his advantage, Heero took out the arms of one machine while the other lost its legs. Both machines either moved back or pulled itself away from him as others began to come out of hiding.

As the tank-machines came out of the buildings around him, Heero backed away into a secluded area. Kneeling Wing Zero, he proceeded to use the Zero System to hack into their computer systems. It took only a matter of minutes, but soon he had the OS that NASA used for their machines.

"Time to leave, Zero…" he murmured as he pulled back from the base. Transforming Wing Zero into its jet form, Heero sped away, mission accomplished. The repercussions stemming from the little…'incursion'…ORB would have to deal with to the best of their ability.

* * *

_ORB, Morgenroete_

_Three hours later_

Erica could not believe that she was staring at a NASA-developed OS, let alone one that was used by Naturals no less. Her eyes flicked over the OS that the Earth Forces had developed, then back to the NASA-developed OS. There were some big differences, one of which was that the NASA OS actually _worked_. "I can't believe this…I just can't…" she murmured.

Heero stood beside her, his machine in the research area as well. Of course it was off-limits, but that was of little importance. What really mattered was that they now had a _NASA-developed OS_! The young Natural looked at the screen, his eyes taking in the huge differences between the two.

"The Earth Forces-developed OS and this one have some disturbing differences." Heero noted.

The woman beside him nodded in agreement. "Looking at this one from NASA, it seems that the Earth Forces almost…_wanted_ to have their pilots lose…" she agreed.

Heero narrowed his eyes at this. "A Natural-based OS is supposed to be difficult to develop? Hardly…If NASA can do it, then the Earth Forces should be able to do it with no trouble, considering their size and the fact that they have the resources from so many different nations at their disposal."

Erica looked at him before turning back to the OS. "If what you said is true…then it would seem that someone wants the Earth Forces to lose, or rather, the Earth Forces want the planet to fall to war, leading to anarchy…"

"War only breeds pain and sorrow. If the Earth Forces want to end the war, then why do they not develop an actual working OS? It seems that they are banking on something…something big if I am right…"

"Hmmm….that could be true."

"Hn."

Silence reigned as the two looked at the dual OSs side by side. One that worked, and one that didn't. And that was what bothered Erica the most…

* * *

_7th Fleet, ZAFT Gibraltar Base…_

Akira was walking around the base, his hands behind his head as he entered the dock where the ships were held. He was not paying attention though, as his mind was elsewhere, mainly on if remaining with ZAFT was worth it. To him, it seemed like it was, but with the way things were going, he was unsure now.

Things were silent except for the sounds of workers maintaining the ships of the 7th Fleet. That is until a rumbling rocked the base, causing people to fall off of their work stations and crew members to fall to the floor, Aki' among them.

The red coat hit the ground, making his head erupt in pain from the impact. Akira looked up, one eye squinted shut as he glanced around. Alarms were blaring, which was not a good sign. What had happened out there?

* * *

Tao was walking to where her father was located, which was in one of the main buildings. The white coat was unsure of what her father wanted to talk to her about. As these things went around in her head, the Coordinator was unaware of the box outside the building.

She entered the main command building, her father waiting for her. "Tao, I see you made it." Commander White remarked as his daughter stood at attention in her white uniform.

"Yes, sir. You had something to talk to me about?"

Her father nodded. "I do. In fact, it has to do with the whole fleet. And if it involves the 7th, then it is not good most of the time."

Tao nodded, unsure of where he was going with this. "Yes, but what are you getting at?"

Commander White sighed before looking at his daughter. "It comes from the 11th Fleet. You see, Le Creuset is up to something, and I fear it may be far worse than we had been expecting, considering what we are fighting for."

His daughter stared at him. "Are you saying that Le Creuset is planning something big, and it is concerning to even NASA?"

Before Commander White could answer, there was a small beeping outside the building. Coming from the unknown box, it got faster and faster until a loud beep was heard. Then, a flash followed by the shockwave. Tao and her father were not so lucky. Sensing the incoming danger, Commander White shoved his daughter to the ground, shielding her with his own body as well as a table.

The blast rocked the whole base, making people fall to the ground with the concussion blast that followed. Screams were heard as flames danced around the main command center. Inside, there were countless more victims, some alive, others not so lucky.

Tao sat up, stunned and dazed by the blast. Something wet slithered down the side of her face by one of her eyes. Reaching up to touch it, she pulled her hand away as pain erupted at the site. Red liquid that she knew to be blood was coating her hand. Looking around, the injured white coat saw flames leaping about, and in the middle of it all was a still form that she knew all too well.

Getting to her feet, Tao stumbled, nearly falling back to the ground. A dizzy feeling overcame her, but she pushed past it to reach the form on the ground. Her father was burned badly, second and third degree burns covering fifty percent of his body. Blood ran down his face, his uniform torn and tattered. Spots of flesh were revealed underneath the partially singed fabric that was black in those areas. His commander's hat was aflame next to him.

His daughter reached him, just as he groaned. "Unnhh…"

Glazed blue-grey eyes locked with wide-frightened blue-grey ones. Tao could see her father was badly injured, if not fatally. "Father…please just hold on…the medics are on their way…"

The older man shook his head slowly. "No…they are not…not….for us…"

A shake from Tao's head did little to ease his pain. "No…that is not true…they will come for us…"

Commander White coughed violently, startling Tao. She reeled back with shock as blood flew from her father's mouth. "You…have to…*cough cough* …leave ZAFT…It is…*hack*…not safe here…"

Tao stared at him in shock and confusion. Leave ZAFT? But why, and where would the fleet go? "Why, father? Why should we leave ZAFT?"

Her father just coughed again, trying to get his breath. "Le Creuset…bad…*hack cough*…news…"

"Stop father! You need to save your energy!" Tao pleaded. But her father did not listen.

"Leave now…*cough*…"

Outside Tao could hear voices. Raising her own voice, she called out to the personnel heading their way. "HEY! IN HERE! HELP!"

"_A bomb went off?!"_ one voice asked. It was a female officer.

"_Yes, and apparently the 7th Fleet commander was in there when it did."_ A male officer replied.

A grunt from the female officer was heard. _"It would seem that he planned a suicide attack. How typical of the _'Maverick Fleet'_."_

Tao could not believe what she was hearing. Her father, a suicide bomber?! She looked at his still form, barely breathing.

"Father, did you…"

A small smile reached his lips. "Would I…"

In an instant, Tao knew that he was not responsible. He was her own father. He would never harm her or anyone else. "No…you wouldn't…" she replied, tears now in her eyes.

"Leave ZAFT…*cough cough cough hack*…now…fight back…and…win…you…are…now…in…command…" With those last words, Commander Change White of the 7th Independent Mobile Fleet, lost his life. Tao stared at her father's limp body, unable to believe what happened. Tears streamed down her face, and hit her father's body, but it did not move.

Tao gritted her teeth and her fists clenched. Her eyes were hidden by her black hair, her right side bloody from her head injury. Unable to hold back her anguish, Tao threw her head back and let out a primal yell of loss and sadness. Bowing her head again, the white coat clenched her fists in front of her.

"Whoever did this…whoever took his life…will pay…" she murmured, looking up. Her eyes were dilated and glazed over. "I swear it!"

* * *

_ORB, Morgenroete…_

Heero sat beside Erica as she compared the data from the Strike, Raven, and Z.A.M. Gundams with that of the OS from NASA and the one from the Earth Forces. The first two were open and the data was being analyzed.

"I can't believe it…the data from the Strike, Raven, and Z.A.M. Gundams matches that of the NASA-developed OS. The OS _does_ work!" she exclaimed as the data scrolled across the screen. The not used Earth Forces OS was on another screen, the data points highlighted.

Her companion just grunted once. "Hn."

Erica looked back to the Earth Forces-use OS. "The Earth Forces purposely made the OS they developed incapable of being used by normal humans…"

She did not have to finish that thought. Either the Earth Forces wanted to lose, or they had something big planned, something that required the OS having those settings.

And the thoughts racing around in her head were not good at all…

* * *

_Washington D.C…_

President Hilson looked up as an aide came into the room. "Hmm?" The aide was panting as he held a report in one hand, right at her.

"We…*pant pant*…have a…*pant*…a problem…ma'am…" the man panted as he put the report on her desk. A file that she had hoped would never arrive sat on her desk before her. _'Commander White…_dead?!_'_

Shock filled her body, but she had expected such a thing to occur. Then again, he _had_ accepted the mission knowing that there was a possibility that he could die. Still, to have it occur so soon was troubling on so many levels it was not funny.

The U.S. leader set the files down before looking at the aide. "Do…do you know how…"

A shake of his head confirmed what the president had suspected. There was no evidence as to how the ZAFT commander had met his fate and as such, no clues either. Putting a hand under her face, she ruled out Blue Cosmos, so that left the Wu faction of ZAFT as possible suspects.

"Well, it would seem that Hong Fa Wu is up to something…" she mused before the aide pointed to the report again.

"Um…there is something else that you should read ma'am…"

Looking at the aide with a curious expression, she picked up the report and flipped to the page he had been pointing at. "What…?! The Earth Alliance did _WHAT?!_" she snarled as she slammed the report down on the desk. President Hilson clenched her fists in anger as she gritted her teeth. "Damn them…"

She looked up, her eyes hard with hatred for the Earth Alliance. "They will pay…" she growled as she looked back slowly. "We cannot support such actions if that is how the EA operates…"

Walking back towards the door, the president faced the aide. "As of right now, we are not sending the Earth Alliance any aid for the war efforts against ZAFT. If they are willing to use a, unarmed person, a civilian no less, as a bargaining chip, then they are not deserving of such aid from anyone, including us." President Hilson said as the aide looked into her green eyes.

"Yes, ma'am."

With that, the U.S. leader left the room, closing the door behind her. As she walked down the hall to the motorcade that was waiting, the president looked down, her eyes hidden by her hair.

No one knew the truth, mainly the Earth Alliance. If they were willing to use innocents as pawns, then they did not deserve _anyone's_ help, much less that of the U.S. and NASA…

* * *

_Washington D.C., British Embassy…_

_An hour later…_

The British Prime Minister sat in the Embassy building as President Hilson walked into the room. On his left was a man with blonde hair in a blue suit. The man had an air of confidence about him, an air that threw the president for a loop.

"Ah…President Marie Hilson. What a surprise." The British leader purred as she sat down not too far from him.

"Shut it and get to the point already. You didn't just fly all the way out here just to talk trivial. So spill it." The U.S. leader replied.

The Prime Minister's guest just chuckled. "Straight to the point and blunt. That's not something that is seen in many politicians today." He mused.

President Hilson glared at him. "So? What's it to you?"

Prime Minister Sheron Winslow looked at the president with a look in his brown eyes that was more scolding than it was anger. "That is not nice to say to my…ah…I mean…_our_ guest, now is it?"

President Hilson gaped before she shook her head. "No, it wasn't. And frankly, I have been under a lot of stress as of late, so you'll have to forgive me."

The man who was the guest then spoke up. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Director Muruta Azrael of Logos Enterprises, and a huge supporter of the Earth Alliance."

President Hilson's eyes widened in shock as the name struck home. The man before here was _Director Azrael?!_ The U.S. leader then stood up, instantly on guard. "What are _you_ doing here?!" she demanded.

The director was not fazed by her actions. "I am simply here to offer you an alliance with my company. You see, with the way the war with the Coordinators is going, we will need all the help we can get, and you are the only ones who can provide it."

President Hilson let a growl out before she sat down. "So…you wish to enlist the help of NASA to fight the Coordinators? What about those living in NASA and New Juneau? How can we be sure that you will not try and attack our nation?" she inquired.

"You can't." The man replied.

That made the president's eyes narrow. "So…you're asking me to place my trust in the Earth Alliance to not attack us when there is no way to insure that you won't? I'm sorry, but I can't do that. If you threaten the Coordinators, then you are threatening other _human beings!_"

Director Azrael did not change his expression, but the president could sense that he was angered by her response. "Then you are traitors to all Naturals." He replied.

President Hilson was shocked as her eyes widened before she stood up, slamming her hands on the table. "_We_ are traitors to all Naturals?! I'm sorry, but _you_ are the traitors to all Naturals, _not_ us! And you have the _audacity_ to call _us_ traitors?! Forget the alliance, and forget receiving any further aid from NASA! As of right now, your aid is cut off until this war is _over_!"

The blonde-haired man growled, but refused to move. "You are certainly a stubborn one, and a very stubborn woman no less. Frankly, I am surprised that the United States has allowed someone like you into the office of President of the United States."

"I am not leaving office just so you can force my country into an alliance that will only submit us to your control!" President Hilson snarled back. Director Azrael then stood up, took off his glove, and, in a move that stunned everyone in the room, slapped the _most powerful woman_ _in the world_ across the cheek!

"That should teach you to never talk back to a man." He replied as he put his glove back on in a casual manner, like it had never even happened. Looking up, President Hilson had a big red mark on her face, but in her eyes was a look, not of submissiveness, but of hatred and insult.

In a rage, the president stood up and ran at the powerful person before her. Tackling the director to the ground, the U.S. leader drew back a fist and punched him right in the mouth. Two more punches to his face, one to an eye, and one to his nose, followed the first one. Then, to further insult Director Azrael, she kicked him where it hurt a male the most. A high-pitched squeal escaped the man as he clutched at that area.

Many stared as the U.S. president walked away, leaving her victim behind. "That…was for insulting me _and_ my nation…" she murmured as her voice dropped low. "You…are the traitors, not us…but if you are willing to call me a traitor, then that is fine. But just so you know, you have no idea of what you are up against…"

With her leaving the room, many were able to guess that the meeting was over before it even began. And that was not a good sign at all…

* * *

Chapter complete. Yes, Heero does attack NASA in this chapter, but it was to get their OS for ORB's use only. Commander White is dead, but the 7th Fleet is not without a commander. New Juneau is revealed to be far different than the other PLANTs, and let's just say that Muruta Azrael is going to regret his actions later on. ;)

I have over two thirds of the story done, and I can't wait to get to the JOSH-A fight, as it will be much different than the original in both canon, and in Seed: A Retelling.

Anyway, constructive criticisim is appreciated, as are reviews. Flames **_will_** be reported and/or deleted depending on if they are signed or not. Keep reading and reviewing! ^^


	17. Phase 16: Turning Point

Phase Sixteen: Turning Point

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: Glad you liked it! :D Yes, they could be, I do not know for sure. :P And as for the song, I could. :)**

**Titanic X: Glad it does. :)**

**A0930: Thanks for understanding. :3. And as for the duo battle, they will at some point, just not sure when...^^' Glad you liked the emotional tension too. As for the NASA PLANT character, yes, she is new. I never named her in this arc. Second arc will reveal the name. :) Tao does not follow the path of Zane, so that is assured. And yes, he was a spy. ;3. As for Marie, if you love what she did here, you will _LOVE_ what she does to Yuna in the next arc. XD And as for the character focus thing, I am trying my best to focus on all characters. But it is not easy. ^^' And yes, Kira's return to Earth remains the same. :3**

**Ken Wise: Well, what I can say? Azrael was an $$. XD**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, the feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

**Anyway, read and review!**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

_Morgenroete_

_An Hour Later_

"You wanted to see me, Johanna?" Erica asked as she entered the room.

"Yes. You have to see this." Johanna said, motioning to her computer.

"Oh. What did Mr. Alaric come up with?"

"Some improvements for the Strike and the Raven, but that's not the only thing. He's come up with blueprints for new Striker Packs."

"What?" Erica said, staring at the screen. "Sniper Aile Striker. Raven Striker. Heavy-Arms Striker. Deep Striker. Amazing...He certainly knows his way around a mobile suit. But then, could we expect anything less from the Black Hawk of ZAFT?"

"They're little rough and will need to be hammered out an expert before we can begin constructing prototypes. But other than that, we can build these Packs."

"Yes. But the _Archangel_ will be gone before we'd be able to finish any of these." Erica said.

"True. But we can use these for blueprints to create specialized Astrays and we certainly can use the Packs." Johanna said.

"If they approve it."

"We should be able to get the prototype approved for production." Johanna said. "The Seirans and their supporters wouldn't like it. Who cares about those arrogant fools?"

"Well, on our end, Heero was able to obtain a NASA-developed OS, and when we compared the OS to the one that the Earth Alliance developed, there were some disturbing things that were discovered. The sensitivity to the controls was turned way down, the strength requirements were too high, and the timing relays were off, just to name a few really." Erica said as she looked at the Striker pack blueprints.

"What?!" Johanna was shocked.

"Yeah…and that worries me. If the Earth Alliance has such an OS developed, who knows what they were planning."

* * *

_The Archangel_

_A Few Hours Later_

Chris whistled as he walked through the _Archangel_'s corridors. They had taken a break for lunch. Liz and the others had left to visit their parents. Or in Liz's case, their grandfather.

Chris walked past an opened door when spotted something in the corner of his eye. He stopped and glanced in the open room. Flay was sitting on her bunk, just staring into space.

"Flay? What are you still doing here? Why aren't you with the others?" Chris said, entering the room. "I though your parents had a house in Orb."

"Yes. There is a house. But no one's living there now." Flay said in a depressed tone. "My mother died when I was little."

"Oh..." Chris said, scratching the back of his head.

He wasn't really sure what to say. It was kind of an awkward situation. Then he thought of something. "Tonight, my grandfather's taking my sister and me out for dinner since I'm busy today, working with Kira and Morgenroete, to properly visit with him. Why don't you come with us?"

"No. That's alright. I don't want to be a third wheel." Flay replied.

"You won't be." Chris said. "Come on, Flay. Get off the ship for a while and take a break from everything."

"Alright. I'll go with you."

"Besides, Nisha is coming as well. So it should be interesting."

Flay giggled at that.

* * *

_The Bridge_

"Under the present circumstances, our chief concern would be Panama. Carpentaria is buzzing with activity and there are rumors of an upcoming, massive ZAFT operation." Kisaka said, clad in an ORB Military uniform.

"How reliable is this information?" Natarle asked.

"I'm not sure." Kisaka said. "ORB is in a difficult position. We want intelligence but we don't want to stir up a hornet's nest either…or get NASA involved. That's the last thing we want."

"But it would make sense, if there's major activity in Carpentaria, then there's four places they'd attack with a large force from there, Kaohsiung, Panama, JOSH-A and ORB. Kaohsiung is already under their control and they don't have a good enough reason to attack ORB. That leaves Panama and JOSH-A. Logically, they'd want to take Panama and cut off their forces in space and on the Moon." John said. "Personally, I'd go for the Earth Forces' heart, JOSH-A, and cripple their central command. But ZAFT would have to gather a massive number of forces for such an assault, leaving many of their holdings on Earth vulnerable in the process, especially if it turns into a long siege. Most of ZAFT's Admiralty wouldn't dare to risk that much for such an operation. And NASA holds the base, giving the Earth Forces a defense that ZAFT would not dare to invoke. They'll attack Panama and take the Mass Driver, signaling the end of the Earth Forces in space. Of course, if Panama falls, it will cause major problems for ORB as well."

"How so?" Murrue asked.

"Think about it. Three of the Mass Drivers under ZAFT control. The only remaining two are under ORB's control and NASA's control. The Earth Forces would see ORB's as the easiest of the five Mass Drivers to take." John said. "They'll force ORB to give them control of the Mass Driver, one way or another."

"What about NASA's?" Taikyu asked.

Mu sighed. "The Earth Forces would not dare to take that one, because NASA is currently in a position of power that they cannot handle. Basically, NASA has the most powerful nation ever to have come about in their midst. And the Earth Alliance would not dare risk attacking them because of that power."

"Regardless of their plans, this will work in your advantage. Most of the ZAFT forces in the area are at Carpentaria at the moment, leaving your path to Alaska relativity clear." Kisaka said.

"What about the team that was pursing us?" Murrue asked.

"We haven't detected any ZAFT ships in the area. They've likely either given up or have been called back." Kisaka said. "There was a lot of talking on the diplomatic side."

"Still. We should be prepared for anything once we leave ORB waters." John said. "I doubt we'll have a clear shot at JOSH-A. I recommend that when we leave ORB waters, we go to Alert Level Two until about six hours after we leave. If they're waiting for us, they'll attack in the first couple of hours."

* * *

_Morgenroete_

_A Few Hours Later_

Chris typed away at the Raven's console, giving the Raven's operating system a thorough check. They had managed to finish creating the OS for Naturals a short while ago, thanks to Heero's help in obtaining a NASA-developed OS. It still needed a few tweaks before it'd be ready for use in combat. But Erica Simmons had told them that they'd perfect the OS over the next couple of days as they put the system through its paces.

So they were now aiding the crews from the _Archangel_ in bringing their mobile suits back up to a hundred percent.

"Hey kid!" Murdoch called out. "We just finished reassembling the railgun. You're gonna need to check the targeting alignment to make sure everything's in sync. And we're gonna replace the Raven's faceplate now!"

"Leave it!" Chris shouted back.

"What? Why?"

"Cause it gives him some personality!"

"What? But-"

"I know it weakens the head's phase shift! I don't care! Leave it!"

"Whatever." Murdoch grumbled. "Alright guys, you heard him, we're not replacing the faceplate!"

Chris shook his head. There was no reason to replace the faceplate. True, it was weakness, but it added character to the Raven. And he didn't see any reason to replace it.

Though there was something bugging him. It wasn't with the Raven, but rather Kira. He had heard that he had rejected the offer to visit his parents. He found it stupid. Who knows when the next time Kira would be able to see his parents? So why not take this moment to see them and relax for a while? It just didn't make sense. But he was going to find out why.

Chris climbed out of the Raven's cockpit. He walked over to the Strike. He stuck his head into the cockpit of the Strike. Kira was typing away with Birdie perched on his shoulder. "Hey Kira, heard you've decided to not see your parents while you're here. How come?"

Kira didn't answer him.

"Well?"

"If I met them now, all they'd see was a soldier." Kira replied, not taking his eyes from the screen.

Chris rolled his eyes. "C'mon Kira. Do honestly believe that they'd see you as anything other than their son?" he said. "Take tonight off and go see them."

"Day in and day out, this is all I do." Kira said, typing away at the Strike's console, his tone tired and weary. "I fight battles in mobile suits and then help out with their development and maintenance. Why? Because I can."

_'Okay...This is starting to creep me out. I think he's been spending a little bit too much time in the Strike's cockpit. He really needs to take some time off and get some air.'_

"As soon as we leave ORB, I'll be going into battle against ZAFT again."

"Yeah. But so will the rest of us." Chris said. "It's not like you're the only one out there. But what's really bugging you Kira?"

Kira paused for a moment before answering. "I'm afraid that if I see my parents, I'd ask them why?"

"Why what?"

"Why the hell did they make me a Coordinator?"

"What the hell kind of excuse is that?" Chris said. "You think that you're the only person that's doubted themselves? Do you think that you're the only person that hates going into battle? Blaming it on being a Coordinator and your parents for making you a Coordinator is just disgusting. Besides, if you were a Natural, chances are you would have died at Heliopolis."

The two were silent for a moment.

"You know something, Kira. I actually envy you. Despite what you think about yourself and whatever you think about me, I envy you."

Kira looked up at him. "What? Why?"

"Because you _can _visit your parents." Chris said, stepping away from the cockpit. "You might want to remember that."

Suddenly, Birdie flew off Kira's shoulder, leaving the hanger. Kira climbed out of the cockpit and followed his mechanical pet.

* * *

_Outside of Morgenroete_

Members of the Zala Team had gathered outside of Morgenroete. They had spent the entire day searching for some of the legged ship. But their search had been fruitless.

"Security's tighter here than at the naval base." Yzak said.

"What do you expect?" Zane said. "Morgenroete is the heart of ORB's military power. They would protect it more than military base under their control."

Yzak nodded his head. He turned to Saul. "Saul, any luck on hacking into their system?"

Saul shrugged. "It's multi-layered. I can crack it. It'll just take time and the proper equipment."

"It might be easier to capture someone and use them to infiltrate the facility." Athrun said.

"Like a wolf in sheep's clothing." Nicol said.

"I don't know. That sounds a lot more dangerous and difficult." Saul said. "It may be-"

"Birdie." a voice chirped, interrupting him.

A small, green mechanical bird was flying towards the group. Athrun knew that bird. He had built it with his own hands. He extended his hand, letting Birdie land on his hand.

"What is it?" Yzak asked.

"A robotic bird." Nicol said, just as surprised as the rest.

"Amazing. That someone could make a small robotic bird that's capable of flight like that." Saul said.

"Birdie! Birdie!" another voice called out.

A brown haired boy, about the same age as them, clad in a Morgenroete uniform, wandered towards where they were standing. Beside him was another boy about their age, with brown hair as well, wearing a green sleeveless shirt with blue shorts and black shoes on.

"That bird must belong to him." Nicol commented.

"Guess so." Saul said.

The boy spotted them and approached the fence. Athrun, in turn, approached the boys and the fence.

"Is this yours?" Athrun asked.

Of course, he already knew the answer. Just as he knew who these boys before him were.

"Yes. Thank you." The first boy replied, extending his hand to the fence.

The bird jumped from Athrun's hand to the boy's. The two stared at each other for a moment. "Come on, let's go!" Yzak called out as he and the others got into their car.

Athrun turned and started to walk to the car. "It was a gift from an old friend." The one boy called out.

Athrun stopped and glanced back. "It's a very valuable gift from a valuable friend." the boy added.

Athrun was sure what to say. He stood there for a moment. He then turned away. "I see." was all that Athrun could manage to say before returning to the car.

He just couldn't face Kira, knowing once the legged ship left ORB, they'd be enemies again.

* * *

_Later That Night_

"I remember his first karate lesson." Samuel said. "He was so nervous that first time that when someone delivered that first little tap to the head, he started bawling like a little baby."

Flay, Liz, Nisha, and Samuel all started laughing. "Ha ha ha." an annoyed Chris said. "Just to let you know, I was five when that happened."

"Still it was quite funny." Samuel said. "In fact, I believe I still have the recording of that, if Miss Allster would like to see it."

"Oh no." Chris said. "You're not showing her that."

"Come on, why shouldn't your girlfriend see it?"

"Cause she doesn't need to see it or hear any of the other embarrassing moments of my life."

Samuel chuckled. "Alright. Alright. I'll stop." he said.

"I would like to see that." Nisha remarked as he looked to Mr. Dante.

"No, Nisha. If he does not want that revealed, then we should respect his decision."

Nisha just looked down with a pouty look on his face.

"You know, I find this quite nostalgic. This restaurant has been around for since I was your age. I had my first date with your grandmother here and I would later propose to her here. Your father took your mother here on their first date. As did your uncle and your aunt. And now you've brought your first date here. Who, if the tradition continues, will one day become your wife."

He then looked to Nisha and Liz. "That goes for you two as well."

The four teens' faces immediately reddened. "This isn't really a date with you, Nisha, and Elizabeth here."

The old man chuckled. "All things considering, that's not bad. I got your grandmother to go out with me after she almost ran me over with a car."

"What? You're kidding." Liz said.

"Nope. She didn't want anything to do with me until she almost hit me with her car. She went out with me once as a pity date and to her surprise, she actually had a good time and then we went out again. And the rest is history."

Samuel let out a sigh, lost in his memories. "Cherish these moments." he said. "Cherish them. Because you never know what tomorrow brings. And you'll never know when all you have left of a person is memories of them."

"Ah well, enough of the past." he said. "So tell me, Miss Allster, why don't you tell me about yourself."

* * *

_Residence of the Attha Family_

_A Few Days Later_

Cagalli finished packing the last of her stuff as the door to her bedroom opened. "Cagalli." her father said as he entered. "Do you intend to go along with that ship?"

"I do." Cagalli answered.

"I see. So you are going to fight the PLANTs as an Earth Alliance soldier. Are you really that eager to go to war?"

"No! Of course not!" Cagalli said. "It's not like I want to fight!"

"Very well then, why?" Uzumi asked.

"I want to help them out! And I want to do whatever I can to end this damn war!"

"You think fighting will end this war?"

"No. But-"

"If you were to kill someone's husband in battle, then his wife will despise you for that. And if you kill someone's son, their mother will hate you as well." her father said. "Because if someone were to take your life, I would hate them with all my heart. Don't you see how war can be a vicious circle?"

"I know that! I can't stay in this country and do nothing!"

"That kind of cheap and arrogant heroism will accomplish nothing!" Uzumi said, placing his hands on her shoulder. "Carrying a gun is not only way to fight a war. You must learn the causes of war, Cagalli. Attacking each other won't solve anything."

* * *

_ZAFT Gibraltar base…_

Tao looked over her bandaged head, which now was recovering from her injury. The personnel at the base had claimed that she was a victim of the 'suicide attack' pulled by her father, so she was not blamed for what happened.

She sighed, her father's death still fresh in her mind. Her father, the commander of the 7th Fleet was dead… Looking back at the mirror, she could only wonder if she was cut out for commanding such a famous fleet. Being in her father's shadow, there were already high expectations set for her to meet. And she was unsure if she would even be able to meet them at all.

Still, she had to try. Commander White would have wanted no less, she knew. Tao left her room, the door closing behind her. Several crew members of the fleet wanted to attack the Earth Forces for claiming the life of their commander, but Tao had denied them the chance, telling them that until more was learned about the bomb attack, they could not do anything other than return to combat.

Akira was waiting for her as she walked by him. Moving into step with her, the red-coat walked alongside her. "I'm…sorry for what happened…" he murmured. "I know what it is like to lose someone that is close to you."

Tao just looked at him with her good eye. "You do?"

"Yeah. You already know I lost my sister, right?"

A nod came from the white-coat beside him. "Yeah, who doesn't? The story made the headlines in the PLANTs."

"Well, not all the details were told. My sister was more than just killed. They proceeded to violate her, and maim her while she was still alive. The people responsible cut off part of her chest while she was still breathing and they performed…'humiliating' acts on her at the same time. I can only imagine the torture that she must have gone through…" Akira murmured as he gripped the pendant tightly.

His superior officer stared at him as he continued. "That is why I joined ZAFT, to get revenge on her attackers. But…after seeing what ZAFT has been doing lately…I am beginning to question whether it was the right thing to do."

Tao knew what he was talking about. "Oh yeah…the attacks on civilians and other innocents for no reason…"

Both were silent for a few moments before Tao spoke up. "Hey…Akira?" The red-coat looked to her. "Thanks for that…well…you know…offering me an ear if I needed it."

"I…no…thank _you_ for listening to me. _I_ was the one in need of having someone listen to me." Aki' replied.

Tao just smiled before walking to the bridge.

* * *

_Undisclosed location…_

People ran back and forth trying to get the machines inside operational. That was easier said than done though, as the machines were even more advanced than the G-Weapons in use by the two opposing sides.

Considering what they had done during that time, that, when taken into account, was an achievement in itself. Repairs had taken longer than anticipated, but when coupled with the data found in the small robot, they had progressed even smoother than originally projected. Within a few days, the machines would be ready.

Except for the third one, which still needed a lot of work done on it. The project director glanced over the plans before looking up at the two machines that were now in the completion stages. Mechanics welded parts of armor back on, or slipped parts into place based on the color coding that indicated where said part went.

Soon, it would be now or never…

* * *

_Aprilius One…_

Lacus Clyne looked out at the Earth below the PLANT capital, the lights on the dark side of the planet twinkling like tiny stars that were planet-bound. It only served to remind her that Naturals were human too. Innocent people, men, women, and children, were living their lives like any normal Coordinator would. Even if they were Naturals, they were still people, right?

She sighed as she looked away and walked into her home. Guards closed the doors to her house, her safe haven from her tormented life as a pop-idol. The pink-haired songstress sat down in her room on her bed, turning on the T.V. that was mounted on her wall. News came on, mainly about the coming PLANT elections, but also news about the war on Earth. And, like anything else in PLANT, the ZAFT news was regarding Naturals as nothing more than primitive cavemen.

Turning to turn off the news, something caught her eye. Looking back, Lacus was just in time to see the White House of NASA's leadership appear on the screen. On the screen in front of the mansion was a Natural woman, but everything seemed to be focused on her. Several PLANT reporters were there as well.

"_To the people of New Juneau, I address the concerns about the Earth Alliance that you have. Rest assured, they will not try attacking you, as New Juneau is a U.S. State. If they try it, then they attack us as well. Even if New Juneau is a PLANT, the status of Statehood will protect the colony."_

Lacus stared at the Natural speaking to the crowd in front of her. A reporter thrust a mike forward to the woman. _"Is it true that the PLANTs treat Naturals as nothing more than cavemen?"_

"_No, it is not. While they may regard Naturals as such, the fact remains that Naturals are just as human as Coordinators are superpeople. In other-words, Naturals and Coordinators are both human beings."_ The female Natural explained.

Another reporter spoke up. _"What about the Coordinators? Is it true that they are supermen, able to defy the laws of physics?"_

The NASA leader just grunted once. _"As if. Coordinators have genes optimized for maximum growth and capacity, not the ability to lift cars with one hand. That stuff is just propaganda spread by the Earth Alliance to get you all to believe that Coordinators are a 'superrace', not the human beings that they actually are."_

Sitting on her bed, Lacus looked at the woman on the screen. The female leader had about her an air that seemed different than what she had been told by the radical faction. President Hilson was an individual that went against what the radical faction was saying. She did not hate Coordinators or want them exterminated. That much Lacus knew from her father. But hearing it in person was a whole different matter.

The president's stance was revealed to be true, which was a complication in the matter of the war with ZAFT. Both were considered equal in NASA, so that was to be a problem in the future if the war continued that long…

* * *

_NASA capital…_

President Hilson looked out at the stars that now sat above the White House. Her little speech had gotten the people before her riled up, both Natural and Coordinator. And yet that did little to ease her nerves.

'_Damn it…why do people in the Earth Alliance have to claim that Coordinators are capable of defying the laws of conventional physics? Don't those nutjobs realize that what they are saying is just impossible?'_

Deep down, she knew that as long as the Blue Cosmos members existed, the hatred would continue…at least until it all came to an end somehow…but as to how, she did not know…

* * *

_ORB…_

Lord Uzumi glanced over at where his daughter was sleeping. The door was shut, but he knew that if he entered she would attack him with anything she could get her hands on. The butler next to the ORB leader looked to his employer.

"You do realize that soon ORB will be attacked." The butler said. Lord Uzumi nodded in agreement.

"I am fully aware of that, Hali…"

Hali Amazda was Lord Uzumi's former superior officer from his days in the ORB armed forces, and the representative's best friend before he gained the post. Now in his seventies, Hali was retired from the army, but was now in the employment of his friend, not just as his butler, but as an unofficial adviser as well.

"But if ORB is attacked, how will Cagalli take it? Her situation, I mean." Hali asked.

Lord Uzumi did not answer right away. "I just hope it does not come to that…"

Hali frowned, but remained silent. If it came down to it, he would do as the council asked…if it ever did that is…

* * *

_Hidden Morgenroete Dock_

_A Short While Later_

Kira, Chris, John, Mu, Nisha, Heero, Elizabeth and Tolle were all waiting around the hanger for the _Archangel_ to launch. Tolle had just recently been given approval to pilot the third Sky Grasper by the Captain and Lieutenant Badgiruel.

_"Ensign Yamato, please report to the upper deck."_

"Huh?" Kira said. "Why do they want me to go to the upper deck?"

Chris shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe Cagalli wants to say goodbye to you."

"Whatever the reason may be, you should go see what they want." John said.

A few minutes later, Kira climbed the ladder to the upper deck. "Kira!" Cagalli shouted, running to the _Archangel_.

"Cagalli? What are you doing here?"

"You're parents are here! They're right up there!" Cagalli shouted back, pointing at the windows overlooking the hanger.

Kira looked up at the windows. His parents were there. His father was waving while his mother was saying something. But Kira couldn't hear it. A few minutes later, an out of breath Cagalli climbed up the ladder to the upper deck. "Why...Why won't you see them? Say something Kira." she said.

"Look. Could you tell them sorry but not now." he said. "For me. I don't think...right now..."

Kira turned away. "Okay." Cagalli said.

"Take care of yourself Cagalli and thanks for everything." Kira said, walking towards the hatch.

Suddenly, Cagalli grabbed him and hugged him. "Listen...Don't get killed." Cagalli said.

"Don't you worry. Nothing is going to happen to me.

A few minutes later, the dock door opened and the _Archangel_ left, heading for their waiting escorts. The ORB fleet surrounded the _Archangel_, which left Onogoro. Once it reached the edge of ORB waters, the ORB fleet stopped while the _Archangel _continued on, taking off into the air.

* * *

_Aboard the _Cousteau

_Outside ORB Waters_

Athrun and his teammates waited inside their mobile suits. They had detected an ORB fleet leaving Onogoro. The ships were too close together for them to determine if the legged ship was with them or not. But Athrun wasn't taking any chances. He knew Kira was at Onogoro and it would only be a matter of time before the legged ship left ORB.

"A ship is separating from the fleet. Identifying...It's the legged ship!"

Dearka whistled. "Wow." Saul said. "Guess Athrun was right after all"

"We're taking off." Athrun said. That ship is going down today."

The Aegis, the Duel and the Blitz launched, followed by Guuls. Then the GINN, the Surge and the Buster launched as well as their Guuls. The six headed towards the _Archangel_.

"This is the Farsight. I'm in position." John said, atop the _Archangel_.

The Strike, armed with the Launcher Striker, walked to the end of one of the catapults. Kira plugged the Agni cannon directly into the _Archangel_. _"I'm in position as well."_

"_Z.A.M. Gundam is in position."_ Nisha said as he stood atop the ship as well. In a large splash, Wing Zero entered the water to attack from below.

"Deploy smokescreen." Natarle ordered.

Missiles fired from the _Archangel_ as smoke poured from dispensers on the bridge tower of the _Archangel_. The missiles exploded, releasing more smoke. Soon the _Archangel_ shrouded by smoke.

"Launch the Sky Graspers."

"Don't be nervous kid." Mu said. "All you need to do is stay overhead and spot for the Strike and the Farsight."

_"Y..Yes."_ Tolle said, trying not to sound as nervous as he actually was.

_"Oh, and Tolle."_ Liz said from Sky Grasper 2. _"You'll want to brace yourselves before the catapult launches you."_

"Mu La Flaga, Sky Grasper 1 launching." Mu said, launching his Sky Grasper, armed with the Aile Striker.

Sky Grasper 2, equipped with the Sword Striker, was loaded onto the catapult. _"Liz Dante, Sky Grasper 2 launching."_

The third Sky Grasper was loaded onto the catapult. _"Tolle Koenig, Sky Grasper 3 launching."_

The ZAFT mobile suits fired on the fighters but all three were able to avoid the incoming fire. "Alright kid, do your job and we'll keep them busy." Mu said.

_"Right."_ Tolle said, pulling above the battlefield. _"Strike, Farsight, this is Sky Grasper 3, I'm sending you the enemy coordinates now."_

A moment later, sniper rounds and the Agni cannon's beam emerged from the smoke. "Scatter!" Athrun ordered.

The six mobile suits scattered, barely avoiding the barrage. Suddenly, the Raven, in its mobile armor mode, emerged from the smoke, its railgun and machineguns firing at the group. Athrun, Nicol, and Saul fired back as the others moved out of the Raven's path. The Raven tackled the Surge, knocking it off of its Guul as it transformed back and mounted the Guul. More shots rang out from the smokescreen of the _Archangel_, forcing the ZAFT team to pull apart even more as Sky Graspers 1 and 2 fired on the mobile suits as well.

The Z.A.M. Gundam fired on the Surge, which lost an arm in the attack before hitting the water.

"Saul!" Nicol shouted as he headed for the Raven.

Chris drew a beam saber as Nicol fired the Gliepnir anchor at him. Chris sliced the incoming anchor in two, destroying it. Nicol activated his own beam saber and charged the mobile suit. The two clashed, their swords meeting. They stood there for moment, sabers locked. Suddenly, the two mobile suits pushed back and before Nicol could react, Chris drew his left beam saber. And in one, quick, upward swing, sliced the Blitz's right arm off. Chris followed up with a swift kick to the Blitz's midsection, sending it to the waters below, right into Wing Zero's wrath.

"Yzak, Dearka, focus on the legged ship, Zane and I will take care of the Raven." Athrun ordered.

The Aegis and the GINN fired on the Raven as the Duel and the Buster headed for the legged ship. Dearka combined his gun launcher and beam cannon into the long range hyper-impulse rifle and fired. The beam struck the _Archangel_'s hull.

_"Mu, give the kid the Aile Strike."_ John said. _"The time for firing behind a smokescreen is over."_

Kira detached the Launcher Striker and got on top of the _Archangel_. "Alright kid. Here it comes." Mu said, his fighter approaching the Strike from behind. "Just don't drop my present."

The Aile Striker detached from the fighter and attached itself to the Strike. Then the beam rifle and shield followed. Once the Strike was reequipped, it took off.

"There you are Strike!" Yzak shouted as the Strike emerged from the smoke.

Yzak fired at the Strike as he rushed towards it. Kira blocked the beam with his shield and fired back. A beam pierced Yzak's Guul. But that didn't stop Yzak. He jumped off the Guul before it exploded, drawing his beam saber. Kira drew one of his own sabers. Yzak swung the saber down on the Strike. Kira swung his own sword. The beam sliced through the top of Yzak's saber, rendering it useless.

"What the..." Yzak said, stunned at the loss of his beam saber.

Before he could regroup, Kira threw his shield at him, sending Yzak falling to the ocean. The Strike started to lose altitude. Strike just didn't have the ability to keep itself in the air for long.

Below the waves, Wing Zero moved in on the Duel, its beam saber out as it reached the sinking mobile suit. The Blitz had managed to avoid getting spotted due to landing behind some rocks, so Nicol was safe for the moment. Yzak cried out as he saw the winged machine approaching rapidly. Heero showed no emotion as he moved in, ready for the kill.

"Hey Kira, need a ride?" Chris said as he flew towards the Strike, the Aegis and GINN firing as they chased him after. Nisha fired on the Aegis, forcing it back so Chris could save Kira.

The Raven leapt off the Guul it was riding and transformed, allowing Kira to mount it. "I got GINN. Kira, you get the Aegis." Chris said.

The Raven flew head on at the GINN but Chris didn't fire. "You want to play chicken, Chris? Well too bad!" Zane said, firing the Guul's missiles at the Raven.

The missiles hit the Raven, but its armor held. "Take this!" Zane shouted, squeezing the railgun's trigger.

The gun didn't fire. A warning light came on. Zane glanced at his console.

_Primary weapon jammed._

"What? How can it be jammed?"

Zane looked back up. The Raven was almost on him. Zane swore as he pulled the Guul up, trying to avoid the Raven. The Raven suddenly spun on its back, its Ahura Mazda beams weapons activated. The twin beams sliced through the Guul.

"Damn. That was either stupid, lucky or just plain crazy." Chris said to himself as the red GINN and the remains of the Guul became victims of gravity. "Probably all three."

Elsewhere, Dearka fired on the _Archangel_. John emptied his sniper rifle's clip at the Buster. But Dearka managed to avoid them and fired on the Farsight. John jumped out the beam's path, replcing his empty clip with a full one. With a fresh clip in place, John fired at the Buster. Rounds tore through the Buster's Guul.

"Dammit!" Dearka cursed, trying to maintain his altitude.

"That's not going to help you." John said, taking aim.

Another shot rang out, piercing one of the Guul's engines. The Guul failed and Dearka join most of his team in the water.

The Aegis fired at the Strike, but Kira dodged the shot and fired, hitting Athrun's Guul. The Aegis jumped off the damaged Guul, sending it at the Strike's. Kira jumped off as the two Guuls collided. Suddenly, the Aegis fired at him. Kira dodged most of the beams, but one struck his rifle, destroying it. The Aegis then transformed into its mobile armor mode and fired its cannon. Kira dove down to the _Archangel,_ avoiding Athrun's shots. A Gottfried fired at the Aegis as Kira landed on the _Archangel_. The beam narrowly missed the Aegis. Athrun transformed the Aegis and dove down, seeking to avoid any more fire from the _Archangel_'s cannons, landing on a small rocky island.

"Liz. Give me the Sword Striker." Kira said.

_"Okay."_ Liz said, bring her Sky Grasper into position.

A few moments later, the Strike equipped with the Sword Striker descended on the Aegis. Athrun barely avoided the sword but lost his beam rifle in the process. "Retreat already." Kira said. "This battle is over."

_"Shut up!"_ Athrun shot back, swinging one of the Aegis's arm mounted beam sabers at the Strike.

Kira parried the swing. "Athrun stop! I don't want to fight you anymore!"

"It's too late! We're enemies now!" Athrun said, pressing his attack. "This won't end until one of us is destroyed!"

Kira blocked the descending arm and punched the Aegis's face. The red mobile suit fell onto its back. The Aegis's phase shift armor deactivated. The Strike raised its large sword over its head. "Athrun..." Kira said.

_"ATHRUN!"_

Suddenly, the Blitz, holding one of its lancer darts in its left hand, charged the Strike. Kira reacted on instinct, swing the sword into the waist of the mobile suit, just beneath the cockpit. Kira let go of the sword, leaving it embedded in the Blitz.

_"Athrun...Run..."_ Nicol said just before the Blitz exploded.

_"NICOL!"_ Athrun screamed.

At that same moment, Wing Zero and all of the other members of the Zala Team emerged from the waters around the island and instantly froze. The members of the Zala Team were stunned. The Blitz was gone. Nicol was gone. The kind-hearted, song writing, piano playing boy that never should have been in the war in the first place, was dead. Pieces of the Blitz littered the area, the largest being the Blitz's battered and smoking torso and head.

"Nicol..." Dearka whispered.

Yzak was at a loss for words. "No way...Impossible...He...Can't be..."

"Nicol!" Saul shouted, his eyes watering.

Suddenly, the _Archangel_'s CIWS fired upon them. "Dammit." Saul cursed. "We have to retreat!"

_"What?"_ Yzak shouted. _"But they-"_

"I KNOW!" Saul shouted, startling Yzak. "But we have no other choice! Athrun's out of power and we've lost the advantage! We have to escape while we can!"

"I agree." Zane added. "We'll only join him if we stay."

The Buster, Duel and GINN headed back to the waters where their sub was. The Surge grabbed the Aegis and withdrew as well. The Raven and the Farsight landed next to the Strike as Wing Zero landed next to the Z.A.M. Gundam on the _Archangel_. "Wow..." Chris said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I didn't think we'd ever be able to take even one of those guys down. Good job Kira."

_"Shut up."_ Kira said.

"What?"

_"Don't you get it?"_ Kira shouted. _"I just killed someone!"_

"Kira...I know that. But it's not like you went out of your way to kill him." Chris said. "It was self-defense. If you hadn't done it, it's likely that you would have been killed. It's not kill you killed him in cold-blood."

"_War calls for killing, whether you like it or not."_ Heero muttered, his comment fitting the situation perfectly.

Suddenly, the Blitz's cockpit hatch opened, releasing more smoke. A figure crawled out of the smoking hatch and then collapsed on the Blitz's torso.

"Looks like you may have spoken too soon." John said. "_Archangel_. The Blitz's pilot survived. We're gonna need a medic here. ASAP!"

* * *

_Archangel_

The Blitz's pilot was brought to the medical bay as the other machines entered the hanger. Wing Zero made its way to another holding bay, which was the one that could house the Gundam. Heero opened up the cockpit as everyone else did the same thing.

Once on the ground, everyone was talking. "Man, I just can't believe how crazy that was. Finding the pilot of the Blitz alive was a stroke of luck I'd say." Chris said as he looked back at the doors leading into the ship.

"Hn."

"Say, Heero, we didn't ask where you are from. It's obvious that you are too skilled to be a normal Natural, and your experience with your machine surpasses even the most hardened war veteran we have on the ship." Nisha exclaimed.

Everyone looked to the other boy, who just gazed back at them. "What I am about to tell you, you can _NEVER_ tell to anyone else, or I _WILL_ kill you." He snarled before the group before him nodded.

"We won't tell, Heero. Especially those AEU officers if they even ask." Chris said. A nod from the group seemed to settle Heero's nerves, even if just a little bit.

"Very well then. You see, I am not from your era, or your universe. I am from the After Colony Era, or A.C. era." Heero began as everyone sat down or leaned against their machines. "I was fleeing to escape a forced marriage between me and the leader of the Sanq Kingdom, which is a nation in my universe. I made it as far as Jupiter before a strange rift in space opened up, and I could not escape it. When I woke up, I was in space as you guys were descending. The rest you already know."

"So, your machine is also from this A.C. universe as well?" Liz asked.

Heero nodded. "Yes, Wing Zero is also from my old universe. It is one of five such machines, called Gundams, which is a derivative of the name of the mineral used in the armor and structural construction: Gundanium."

"So is Gundanium stronger than even the Phase Shift armor we have?" Kira inquired.

"Yes, it is. It can deflect almost all beam shots, and take an enormous amount of punishment before giving out. And because it does not need power, that power can be used to power the weapons and other systems." Heero replied.

Chris spoke next. "So, what powers Wing Zero? I mean, with the way you fight, it can't be battery powered."

"You're right. It's not. Rather, Wing Zero has a nuclear fusion reactor at its core. That provides it with all the power ever needed to stay functional, which means it can operate for far longer than your machines can." Heero explained.

"Wait, nuclear _fusion_? Does that mean it is unaffected by the N-Jammers?" Nisha asked.

"N-Jammers?" Heero asked. It was now his turn to be confused. Nisha nodded. "Yeah, they block all nuclear fission, which makes current nuclear reactors useless."

"Then, yes, it would be unaffected by the N-Jammers." Heero replied.

John then spoke next. "So, your machine, does it have some kind of OS?"

"Yes, it has the ZERO System. The system is also an AI/battle prediction computer which feeds me all the possible outcomes and ways to alter those outcomes. It can allow me to plan out entire battles from start to finish if need be. But there is a downside to it as well. I have to keep my emotions in check, otherwise I will lose control over the system, which will force me to attack anyone the system deems a threat." Heero replied. "And if you tell _ANYONE_ about the Zero System, I will be forced to kill you to keep it a secret."

John stared in shock, surprised at the fact that such a system was even possible. _'A powerful battle prediction system/AI…no wonder he is so reclusive…If such a system got into the hands of the radical faction or even the Earth Alliance, then everyone would be done for!'_

"I want you all to make a promise." Heero said. Everyone looked at him in shock. "What I am about to ask you to do is a huge task, but from what I have seen, you can pull it off. It is also my way of thanking you for taking me in when I had nowhere to go. If anyone tries to get Wing Zero, or the ship while Wing Zero is on it, I want you to do whatever it takes to prevent the Zero System from being discovered."

There was silence for a few moments before Chris spoke up. "If you are willing to ask us to do such a thing, then we will. It is our way of repaying you for what you have done for us."

For a brief moment, a small smile appeared on Heero's face before fading. 'Very well."

With that said and done, things began to look up for the ship and its crew…

* * *

Heero has revealed where he is from and asked the crew of the _Archangel_ to destroy Wing Zero should the circumstances ever arise. He is becoming more trusting, but also much more defensive of his machine as well.

Anyway, constructive criticism is appreciated, as are reviews. Flames, or hate-filled reviews, **_will_** be reported and/or deleted depending on if they are signed or not.

Help me reach fifty reviews and beyond! So, please read and review! ^^


	18. Phase 17: Flashing Blades

Phase Seventeen: Flashing Blades

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :)**

**Ken Wise: No, they are not. :P**

**CT7567Rules: I will see about your OC being Shinn's friend. :) As for it being Tao's sister, um, it was actually Akira's sister. :P Cool info about the weapon failure. I didn't know that. :3 And you gave me a potential idea for the last phase for arc 1. :3**

**Just a Crazy Man: Glad you like. :)**

**A0930: Oh boy... Let's see. Yes, Liz will get an MS soon. Yes, Tao will lead the 7th Fleet. :) Lacus may admire Marie, but you never know. :P As for Tolle, no, his fate is not changed. And it's fine with the long reviews. :3**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, the feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

**Anyway, read and review!**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

_Aboard the _Cousteau

"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" Yzak shouted, punching a locker, Nicol's locker. "DAMMIT!"

The locker door flew open. Music sheets poured out. "Yzak..." Dearka said, trying to calm his friend down.

"Why did he have to die like that? And why out here?" Yzak shouted, turning to Athrun and glaring at him.

Athrun grabbed his collar and slammed Yzak against the locker. "Why don't you just say it, Yzak?" he shouted. "It's my fault Nicol's dead!"

_WHAM!_

"That's enough!" Saul shouted, his fist pressed against a locker.

Athrun, Yzak and Dearka were all stunned by their normally laidback teammate. Since they had first met him at the Academy, they had never seen him ever get really angry. Yet now, he was as angry as Yzak could get. It was actually a little scary. "Is this what Nicol would have wanted? Wasting our time, beating the crap out of each other? Look at yourselves! What the hell with this accomplish?" he shouted. "We should be saving our energy for destroying that damned Strike and that damned legged ship!"

Saul then stormed out of the room, leaving his comrades in a stunned state. A moment later, Zane, who had remained quiet since their return, finished putting his uniform on and headed for the door. He stopped at the door. "He is right. Wasting our time fighting each other is pointless." Zane said. "But, if it wasn't for your hesitance _Commander_ Zala, we would have crushed them long before this happened. You may want to remember that before the next sortie."

Zane left the room. "First that bastard killed Miguel, then he gave me this scar, now he's killed Nicol! Next time we meet, I'm going to destroy the Strike!" Yzak said before he and Dearka left as well.

Athrun turned to open locker. Pages of music littered the ground while Nicol's uniform hung in the locker. He grabbed the uniform and embraced it. Memories of Nicol filled his mind. "I should have died...Not you..." Athrun said, his eyes watering. "Nicol...It's all because I was too weak to defeat Kira in the past...It was my weakness that killed you..."

Athrun slumped down on the ground next to Nicol's music sheets. His expression of sorrow turned to anger. "I'll kill him...The next time we meet..."

* * *

Saul entered his quarters and closed the door. He glanced at the small desk in the room. Atop it was a photo. It was from when they all graduated from the Academy together. Athrun, Dearka, Rusty, Miguel, Nicol, Yzak, Akira, and himself were all grinning, clad in their uniforms. He grabbed the picture and then slumped down on the floor beside his bed, tears falling down his face, landing on the picture. First Rusty had been killed, then Miguel and now Nicol. All because of that damned Strike.

None of them had deserved to die. Rusty had just wanted to do his part to protect the PLANTs. Miguel needed the money to help his little brother. And Nicol...

-_Flashback_-

_The _Cousteau_ had surfaced and was currently being resupplied by the supply sub, the _Zanzibar_. Saul, Athrun and Nicol were relaxing on the Cousteau's deck. Saul was laying on the deck while Athrun and Nicol were sitting next to him._

"_Why did you volunteer for the military, Nicol?" Athrun asked._

"_I guess I felt that I should do my part and join the fight after what happen at Junius Seven." Nicol said. "And what about you?"_

"_The very same reason." Athrun said._

_Nicol turned to Saul. "What about you Saul? Why did you join?"_

"_Well, not for the same reason you guys joined up for." Saul said, not even bothering to sit up, his tone annoyed. "Family tradition. Ever since my great great grandparents, my family's been in the armed forces, obviously long before ZAFT. So, I had no choice by to follow in the family tradition. Truthfully, I had no interest in the military, much to the annoyance of my family. Personally, I'd think that they'd disown me if they thought it wouldn't look bad on them."_

"_I think you're just being negative." Nicol said. "Your parents wouldn't do that."_

"_You don't know them." Saul said. "You know what they said to me just before we left for Earth? 'Don't be a burden on your teammates. And at least act like a respectable soldier for once.' Yeah. They care about me."_

_Saul sighed. "Let's talk about something else. Something more pleasant."_

"_Well, I've just about finished my latest piece." Nicol said._

_Saul chuckled. "Another one? At this rate, when the war's over, you'll have enough music for a dozen concerts. And of course, all of them will put Athrun to sleep."_

"_Hey!" Athrun said as both he and Nicol started laughing._

-_End Flashback_-

Nicol never should have been in this war in the first place. He should have been in the PLANTs, performing concerts, not fighting in battles. But he had wanted to protect the PLANTs, like everyone else was doing. And now he was dead.

Killed by the Strike.

But now...none of them were going to stop until the Strike was destroyed and Nicol was avenged.

* * *

Zane allowed himself to smile as he entered the hanger. The death of that weakling Amalfi would drive the rest of them to do what should have been done weeks ago, especially that pathetic fool Athrun. He knew of his friendship with the Strike's pilot, just as he knew that it was source of Athrun's hesitance in dealing with the legged ship and its mobile suits. But now, they were all determined to destroy the legged ship and its mobile suits. The next battle would finish them all off.

"Why did my railgun jam like that?" Zane asked as the crews worked on the mobile suits.

"A defective round, sir. When you fired, it became stuck in the barrel." one of the mechanics said. "Just a freak accident. A one in a million freak accident, but a freak accident never the less."

Images from when Miss Clyne was returned filled his mind. Firing at the Raven, but most of his shots going wide, missing their target, regardless of what he did. Then there was the battle in Earth's atmosphere. He had the Raven in his sight. There was no way for him to avoid the round, only for his ballute to activate, ruining his shot, and now he had to deal with this latest annoyance.

"I want my railgun and its ammo thoroughly checked over. I want it at one hundred percent before the next sortie." Zane said.

"Yes sir."

"This is third time he's escaped because of his luck." an annoyed Zane said to himself. "But he won't escape a fourth time because of that luck."

* * *

_The Strike standing over the powerless Aegis..._

_Its sword rising..._

_Athrun..._

_Running...Strike turning..._

_Sword swinging...Hitting..._

_Athrun...Run..._

_Flash...Fire...Pain..._

_Darkness..._

_Pain...Smoke..._

_Must escape..._

_Sunlight...More pain..._

_Darkness..._

Nicol groaned. His eyes slowly opened. He was lying on a bed, bandages covering his wounds. How had he gotten here? He tried to remember what happened. They were fighting the legged ship and its mobile suits. The Blitz's right arm had been sliced off by the Raven. Then...

"Athrun!" he said as he remembered.

The Aegis ran out of power and the Strike was about to destroy it. He had rushed to his rescue and the Strike had hit the Blitz with its sword and the Blitz had exploded. They must have rescued him and taken him back to the sub.

"Ah. I see your awake." a voice said.

Suddenly, a doctor clad in an Earth Forces uniform appeared over him. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. He hadn't noticed until now that his right arm had been handcuffed to the guardrail of the bed and that the room he was in wasn't the infirmary of the sub. It was the legged ship! Athrun and the others hadn't rescued him, the legged ship had.

But then...What happened to Athrun and the others? Were they alive? Or had...No. They couldn't have been shot down. They were all Red Coats. ZAFT aces. They would have made it, just like he did.

But he was now a prisoner of war. He had heard stories of what anti-Coordinator Naturals did to captured ZAFT soldiers. There were stories of captured soldiers being tortured to death by cruel interrogators regardless of whether or not they actually knew anything of value, prisoners being beaten for even the slightest provocation, real or imagined. There were even stories of young captured pilots like him just disappearing, like they had never existed in the first place. And it was even worse in NASA, where captured ZAFT soldiers were sold as slaves to the Natural royalty that ruled the countries in the alliance. Coordinators killed for no reason other than simply existing, and many more being experimented on to see how they were engineered.

Nicol was terrified about what was going to happen to him. Would he ever see his parents and friends again? Or would he disappear as well? Nicol's heart was racing. He heard the increasing beeps of the heart rate monitor he was hooked up to.

"Whoa. Easy now." the doctor said, trying to calm him down. "Calm down. No one is going to hurt you. Your body is still in rough shape. If you don't calm down, you're going to go into shock."

Nicol took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down and slow his heart rate. After a few minutes of breathing, he had managed to calm himself down. "Good." the doctor said. "How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?"

"No. Just a little stiff and sore." Nicol replied.

"Good. I don't have much experience treating Coordinators." the doctor said. "I wasn't sure how much painkiller to give you."

"Where...Where am I?"

"You're aboard the _Archangel_. The ship you've been chasing."

"Oh."

"You're lucky to have survived that, you know. Certainly, a Natural would not have likely survived."

"Get some rest." the doctor said. "The Captain will wish to speak to you in a little while, so you should rest up."

"Were...Were any of the other mobile suits shot down?"

"Nope." the doctor said. "From my understanding, the rest of the attackers fled after your machine was destroyed."

"Thank you." he said.

"Don't worry about it. Just get some rest."

Nicol nodded and then closed his eyes and drifted to sleep. When he woke up a few hours later, the ship's Captain, XO and a blond haired officer came by to ask him some questions. All they got was his name, rank, and serial number. He wasn't going to betray Athrun, Saul and the others. After they left, Nicol found himself wondering what his teammates were doing right now. Then he realized it. They probably thought he was dead, and that would his parents would find out soon enough. He could picture his teammates grieving in their own individual ways. He could picture his mother, sitting at his piano, crying.

_'The truly ironic part about this is, they'll probably try to destroy the legged ship in revenge. And if they succeed, they'll end up killing me.'_

* * *

_Elsewhere_

John and Heero entered Kira's quarters. As expected, the depressed boy was sitting against the side of his bed. "Are you going to spend all of your time mopping around?" John asked while drinking some coffee.

Kira didn't respond.

John sighed. "Look kid, you're being quite selfish." he said.

Kira looked up at him. "It's true." John said, his tone becoming serious. "You're not the only person who's ever felt guilty over killing someone. Just about everyone that fights in war, feels that way at one point or another. I remember the first time I killed someone. I wasn't that much older than you. After I shot them, I threw up and nearly passed out. And the face of the person I killed has been forever burned into my memory."

"I will never forget the first person I killed either. The same goes for every person I killed after. I will never forget them, no matter how hard I try." Heero replied. "But all I can do is keep on going, never forgetting, but never killing out of hate."

"But you really shouldn't be mopping around anyway. You should be celebrating with your friends in mess hall over this recent victory. And you should be celebrating that Blitz's pilot survived."

"Please. Just leave me alone." Kira said.

John sighed again. "Well. Suit yourself kid. But you really need to loosen up and relax from time to time. Or you're going to snap." he said before leaving.

Heero also turned and left, but not before he took one last glance at Kira. Then, he left.

* * *

_The Bridge_

_A Few Days Later_

"I believe that we'll receive at least one other attack before we reach Alaska's air defense space. They'll want to avenge their fallen comrade." John said, pulling up a map on the main screen. "I believe that we should take this route. It is the fastest to Alaska. But there is a chain of islands in this path. That's the ideal place for them to ambush us."

"But why should we take a route to us being ambushed?" Natarle asked.

"Simple. We present then with an opening, they'll take it. So we'll know when they'll attack." John said. "I recommend that we be prepared for combat and have all mobile suits and Sky Graspers ready for launch before we reach those islands."

"Making them think that they're going to ambush us, but in reality, they fight on our terms." Mu said. "That's pretty clever."

"The best way to counter an ambush is make the attacker think that they're going to catch you off guard." John said.

* * *

_The Brig_

Nicol sighed as he lay on the cot in his cell. The day after he woke up, the doctor had said that he was well on the way to a full recovery and that he was now out of any danger. So, pair of guards transferred him to a cell in the ship's brig.

It wasn't that bad, all things considering. It could have been a lot worse. The only thing Nicol really hated about it was alone. Sitting in a cell all day long, with nothing to do and no one to talk to, was quickly becoming difficult to bare. He had pretty much lost all track of time. Only when his meals came, did he have any real idea of what time it was. The doctor had come by every day to check how well his injuries were healing. But other than that, there was nothing for him to do. What he wouldn't give for a pencil and some paper. At least then he could pass the time writing music.

"So you're the pilot of the Blitz." a voice said, startling Nicol.

"Or rather, you were the pilot of the Blitz." a brown hair teen in an Earth Forces uniform, holding a food tray, said.

"Yeah." Nicol quietly said.

"Well, he's your food." the teen said, sliding the food into the slot at the bottom of the cell door. "I'm Chris Dante, pilot of the Raven."

"You're the pilot of the Raven?" a surprised Nicol said as got up to get the tray.

"Let me guess, you pictured some grizzled, Earth Forces veteran that had been fighting since before the war started."

"Well...Kinda..."

The teen laughed. "Well, sorry to disappoint you. But I'm just a teen from Heliopolis. Until you guys attacked."

"Sorry." Nicol said. "We never want things to turn out that way."

"Don't worry about it. It's not like it was the first home I lost because of this war."

"Huh?"

"Originally, I was from Junius Seven."

"Wait...That means...Then Saul was right, you're a Coordinator!"

"Yep." the teen said. "Originally, I lived in PLANTs. But then the Copernicus Tragedy happened. My parents decided that it wasn't safe for us in PLANTs anymore and send my little sister and me to live with my aunt and uncle in Heliopolis. They were doctors and they couldn't just pack up and leave. But they had arranged to leave on February 15th. But of course, we both know what happened the day before."

"But why are fighting for the Earth Forces? They were the responsible for the Bloody Valentine Tragedy! Did they enslave you?!"

"Are you saying that I should blame them all for the actions of a few?" he said. "What good would that do? My parents and friends are dead. Nothing will change that. And an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. And no, the Earth Forces did not enslave me to fight for them. I did it of my own free will."

"That's an interesting philosophy." Nicol said as he started eating his lunch. "But still, how can you fight with them, knowing what they did your family and friends?"

"None of the people on board this ship were responsible for that disaster. And they're all good people. So why should I blame them?"

"I see your point." Nicol said. "I never had any ill will towards Naturals or the Alliance. I just don't want another Bloody Valentine Tragedy to happen."

"Nor do I." he said. "I just want this war to end before I lose anything else."

Nicol nodded. "By the way, I'm Nicol Amalfi."

"Hello Nicol. Need anything else?"

"Actually, I wouldn't mind some paper and something to write with."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I'm a musician and I like to write my own music."

"Well...I'll see what I can do. The paper's no problem. But I may get in trouble if I give you pencil, as it could be seen as something that can be used as a weapon."

"Oh..."

"But so long as you don't try anything funny, I don't see any reason not to." Chris said. "Of course, if you'll need to make sure no one catches you with it."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Chris then turned to leave, but Nicol stopped him. "Hey, Chris?"

"Yeah?" Chris looked back.

"What about the other pilots here? I mean, are they Coordinators as well, or are they all Naturals?"

Chris sighed. "No, Nicol. Two of them are not Naturals. You see the pilots of the Z.A.M. Gundam and Strike are also Coordinators, who were in the same situation as me. They chose to fight of their own free will. As for the last pilot, well…he is a Natural, but he is just as skilled as any Coordinator if not more so."

Nicol stared at the information. "So that winged machine is piloted by a _Natural?_"

Chris nodded. "Yep. And he is the same age as us. Now, I gotta go get you that pencil if you want to write music."

* * *

_7th Fleet, En route to PLANT homeland…_

Tao sat in her ship's bridge, her head still bandaged from the injury inflicted not that long ago, as the fleet made its way back home.

She sighed as she recalled the election results. _'So, it appears that ZAFT is taking the route that we all wanted to avoid…and there is nothing we can do about it except follow orders.'_

Her orders from the PLANT capital had been to return to orbit and attack New Juneau, which is what she wanted to avoid, mainly because they were _a U.S. State!_ "What can Wu be thinking, attacking a U.S. state, and a PLANT at that?!" she growled as she slammed her hand down.

"We can't do much except follow the orders, otherwise Wu will have us executed as traitors to ZAFT." Aisha reminded her.

That made the new commander growl, but she did not say anything else of it. "Alright then…Send out the Wing and the Silent Sniper. If anyone can get in and wreak havoc in the colony, it is those two." Tao ordered.

Many looked at her questioningly, but did not call her out on it. Those were the orders from command, after all. And there was not much that they could do anyway.

* * *

_Space, New Juneau boundaries…_

Akira in the Wing and Josh in the Silent Sniper moved in on the colony of New Juneau, both wondering why they had been ordered to attack their home where they had been born.

"_We have to go through with this, Aki'."_ Josh reminded him.

"No need to remind me, Josh." Aki' snapped back. As the two approached the colony airspace, ships came out to greet the two machines, as did captured ZAFT GINNs.

The machines and ships surrounded the two ZAFT units, making Aki' and Josh both gasp at their sheer amount of weaponry. The two ZAFT aces were both outnumbered _and_ outgunned.

"_We're screwed…"_ Josh moaned over the com-line as Aki' glared at him.

"Hey, it does not help that ZAFT has begun to do things that we do not agree with!" the other pilot snapped back.

But both knew that they were done for, if NAZAFT turned out to be anything like Wu had said…

* * *

_Aboard the _Cousteau

_The Next Day_

"Sonar has picked up something. It's the legged ship!"

"Are you sure?" the Captain asked.

"There's no mistake sir."

"They're heading for a chain of small islands. There isn't a lot of room for them to maneuver. It's the ideal place for an ambush." the Captain said.

"Today's the day we're gonna finish that ship and its mobile suits for good." Yzak said.

"Yeah. Today we're gonna avenge Nicol and your scar." Dearka said.

"For Nicol." Saul said, punching his palm. "They're going down."

"We're taking off." Athrun said.

* * *

"Ma'am! Enemy silhouette detected!" Chandra said. "Five mobile suits incoming."

"Just as he thought. They're attacking!" Murrue said. "All hands to Level One Battle-stations!"

* * *

"_All hands to Level One Battle-stations! I repeat..."_

"Alright. They've taken the bait." John said from the cockpit of his machine. "Kira, Chris, Nisha, stay close to the ship. Heero, just do your own thing. They'll try to force her down into the waters where the islands will constrict her movements. We can't let that happen."

"Right." the three teens said as Heero nodded once.

"Launch the Sky Graspers." Badgiruel said over the comm.

"Okay. Tolle, stick close to either Liz or myself." Mu said as his fighter was loaded onto the catapult. "And be careful."

"Right."

A few moments later, all of the Sky Graspers and mobile suits had taken off. Farsight stood atop the _Archangel_'s rear deck while the Strike, riding the Raven, and the Sky Graspers flew alongside the _Archangel_, waiting for the enemy. The Z.A.M. Gundam stood on the forward deck while Wing Zero landed on the side to attack any other machines that tried to attack.

Dearka combined the Buster's guns into a single long range weapon and fired. The _Archangel_ evaded the beam while John fired back at the Buster. Yzak roared, heading for the Strike and the Raven. He fired at the mobile suits as Kira and Chris returned fire. The shots either missed or were blocked by their shields. Once the mobile suits closed in on each other, Kira and Yzak drew their beam sabers and attacked.

The Buster, the Surge, and the GINN fired upon the _Archangel_, hitting several missile tubes and one of the Igelstellung turrets. John, Nisha, and the fighters fired back, but missed. Athrun joined Yzak in attacking the Raven and the Strike. They fired on two mobile suits as they clashed with Yzak.

"Damn." Chris cursed as he narrowly avoided their attacks as he pulled away from the Duel. "We're gonna have to split up."

_"Right."_ Kira said, switching back to his rifle.

Kira jumped off the Raven and fired at the Duel, hitting its right knee. The leg exploded, knocking it off of its Guul and sending it to the waters below. But as the Duel fell, Yzak fired its railgun at the Strike, hitting its rifle, destroying it.

Saul attacked with the Surge's beam rifle, firing on Wing Zero. In a flash, Heero was up in the air with his Buster Rifle aimed. "You do not stand a chance…" Heero murmured as he fired the rifle. The Surge dodged the attack, throwing Heero for a loop before he recovered and fired again.

Elsewhere, the _Archangel_ continued to take a pounding from the Buster and the GINN. Despite the efforts of John and the others, the _Archangel_ had lost almost half of its missile tubes, four Igelstellung turrets and one of its Valiants. Worse yet, its engines were taking a tremendous beating. John swore as he fired at the Buster. "Kira, Chris, we need some backup! The ship won't last much longer!"

At that very moment, the Buster fired, hitting the _Archangel_'s engines. The damage was too great. The _Archangel_ could no longer maintain its lift and began to descend on one of the islands.

"Dammit! I'm coming!" Chris said, turning towards the battered ship.

"Oh no you don't!" Saul said, jumping off his Guul before Heero could attack again.

The Surge landed on the Raven. Saul pointed his rifle down, directly at the Raven...

Suddenly, Sky Grasper 2 appeared, the Sword Striker's sword extended and ready to slice through the Surge. "Shit!" Saul shouted as he jumped back, firing at the fighter.

A lucky shot struck the sword, destroying it and damaging the Sky Grasper. "Liz!" Chris shouted as his sister struggled to maintain her altitude.

In response, Heero fired on the Surge, taking out one of the arms with the Buster Rifle.

_"I can't keep her stable! I'm going down!"_

Chris transformed the Raven back into its mobile suit mode and pulled alongside the falling aircraft. He reached out and grabbed the Sky Grasper. "I got you." Chris said, heading for the island.

_"Thanks."_ Liz said.

The Archangel, fire and smoke billowing from it, crash landed onto the island. "Time to finish this ship off once and for all!" Dearka said, aiming for its bridge.

Suddenly, fire from Sky Graspers 3 struck the mobile suit as the fighters flew past him "Stupid pest! You're going down!" Dearka growled as he turned towards the fighter.

"Not today!" Mu said, firing the Agni cannon at him.

Dearka turned back as the beam struck the Buster. The powerful beam tore through the Buster's right shoulder, severing the arm and knocking the Buster off its Guul. It landed in front of the downed _Archangel_. Both of its Gottfrieds targeted it. Seeing no other option, Dearka stepped out of its cockpit with his hands raised.

"_Archangel_, open one of the hatches. I have Sky Grasper 2 with me." Chris said, landing on the _Archangel_.

One of the hatches opened. Chris moved towards, when the Surge and the GINN fired on him. Chris pulled the fighter close to him in one hand while he fired the Raven's railgun at them. Suddenly, a round tore through the GINN's Guul, destroying it. _"Go! I got you covered!"_ John said, firing on the pair.

Chris quickly climbed into the _Archangel_, dropped off the damaged fighter and headed back out. John was holding his own against the two grounded machines, for now anyway. Chris headed for the GINN, firing at it. Zane fired back and took off, heading deeper into the island and away from the _Archangel_. Chris followed after him.

Meanwhile, the Strike landed on the island. "Kira!" Athrun shouted as he jumped off his Guul and fired at the Strike.

Kira raised his shield, protecting him from barrage. Athrun landed in front of the Strike and activated the Aegis's beam saber in its right arm. The two mobile suits clashed as it began to rain. "You murdered Nicol!" Athrun screamed.

_"No! I did-"_

"SHUT UP! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Athrun roared as he flew at the Strike again.

* * *

Saul fired at the gray GINN High Maneuver Type. But John sidestepped the shot and fired, hitting the Surge's rifle. Saul discarded the weapon just before it exploded.

_"Surrender."_ John said to the Surge's pilot.

"Never." Saul said, drawing his swords. "I'm not giving up that easily!"

_"You're machine may be superior to mine. But you're no match for me kid. And as for the one who shot you down, well…let's just say that your skills are way below his."_

The Surge lunged forward and slashed off the GINN's right arm and slammed it to the ground. The Farsight crashed to the ground. "I told you." Saul said, hovering over the GINN. "I'm not giving up that easily!"

_"Never lower your guard in combat, boy!"_ John said, pulling out one of his hidden beam sabers.

"Wha-"

Before Saul could react, John's saber slashed through the Surge's shins. Saul swore as the Surge fell backwards. He reached for his rifle when John's beam saber appeared inches from the cockpit. _"Don't. It's over."_ John said. _"Power down and step out of the cockpit."_

Saul swore. It was over. He powered down the Surge and opened up the cockpit. John pulled his saber back. "I surrender." he said as he stepped out, his hands raised.

* * *

Kira found himself being beaten back by Athrun. He was fighting like he was possessed. Kira was struggling just to defend himself from the attacks. If he couldn't…

_"Kira!"_

Sky Grasper 3 appeared in the skies overhead. Tolle fired on the Aegis. Only one or two shots actually hit the Aegis, causing little damage. The Aegis spun around, throwing its shield at the fighter. Tolle never stood a chance. The spinning shield crashed into the Sky Grasper's cockpit, killing Tolle instantly.

"Tolle!" Kira screamed as the fighter exploded.

But he wasn't the only one. At that very moment, the GINN and the Raven approached the area they were battling in.

"Tolle! NO!" Chris screamed as well.

Chris stood there for a moment, frozen. Another person he cared about had been claimed by this war.

"What a fool, thinking that a fighter was a match for a mobile suit." Zane said. "That idiot has only himself to blame for his death."

Images of his parents and friends from Junius Seven filled his head. Then, images of its fiery death did. Then that little girl from Heliopolis that gave him the paper flower that was still on the Raven's control console. Zane, firing at her shuttle. Then finally, all the good times he had with Tolle. From the day they first met to the more recent events. His death and Zane's words collided as a greyish-green seed shattered in the back of his mind.

"ZANE!" he roared, turning back to the GINN.

He drew both beam sabers and lunged at the red machine. The GINN jumped back, barely dodging the sabers, and fired. A round tore through the Raven's left wing. Chris was completely obvious to it. He kept on attacking. Zane was barely able to avoid the attacks. He knew he couldn't keep it up for much longer.

"Dammit." he cursed. "I refuse to lose to you and that machine! I will defeat you!"

A gray seed shattered in the back of Zane's mind. "I...WILL...NOT...LOSE...TO...YOU!" he shouted.

Zane switch from his railgun to his sword. The two clashed. Beam sabers striking the GINN's sword and shield. The two machines tried to overpower the other, to knock the other to ground and finish them off. Neither machine seemed to be able to overpower the other. Suddenly, Zane pushed his sword to the side, catching Chris off guard, giving Zane an opening. Zane jammed his sword into the space in between the left shoulder and the body of the Raven. Where there was no phase shift armor to protect it. The sword cut into the joint. The left arm froze. The beam saber died, as did the left arm's phase shift armor. But Chris didn't care. He swung his remaining saber down on the GINN's left arm, slicing it off.

Meanwhile, the battle between Kira and Athrun become just as vicious. "ATHRUN!" Kira roared as a purple seed shattered in his mind.

The Strike and the Aegis lunged at each other. Kira blocked Athrun's saber, sliced off the Aegis's left arm and then kicked the mobile suit. Athrun staggered back, trying to stay standing. A green seed shattered in his mind as well. "KIRA!" he roared, activating the sabers in the Aegis's feet.

The two clashed again and again. The Strike's left arm flew off. The Aegis's head was stabbed and then ripped off. A gash was cut across the Strike's chest, exposing the cockpit. The Aegis transformed into its mobile armor mode and grabbed the Strike. Its Scylla cannon started charging. Suddenly, the charging beam started to flicker before the cannon deactivated. The Aegis was out of power. Its phase shift armor deactivated. Athrun had only one option left to destroy the Strike. He activated the Aegis's self-destruct and ejected.

Both Chris and Zane saw the Aegis shut down and Athrun escape, breaking up their fight. Zane knew what Athrun was doing. He grinned and immediately fled the area. Chris, on the other hand, didn't realize what Athrun did, and turned to the fleeing GINN, preparing to fire.

Suddenly, the Aegis exploded. The fireball engulfed the Strike and expanded, slamming into the Raven.

* * *

_AEU, British Parliament_…

The U.S. president sat in Air Force One as the plane flew over the AEU capital of London England. Looking out the windows, she saw the once great nation's amazing architecture beneath the wings. Now, the nation was just a place for Coordinator-hating people to live.

Closing her eyes, President Hilson looked away, unable to stand looking at the British leadership's headquarters any longer. Her visit had been only in hatred and anger, which meant that nothing had been accomplished.

Now, she was heading back to the States, disgust present in her attitude towards the AEU. But that was just the latest in a string of failures in the relations between the U.S. and the U.K.

Reflecting on how things had gone downhill so fast, the U.S. leader was unable to believe that the nation that had once been their greatest ally and enemy was now against them on all accounts. The U.K. had once been the greatest ally of the United States in both military and economic power, which had been a great benefit to both parties. Then, when the C.E. Era came about, things went downhill. Of course, like all great alliances, the fall had begun with a secret revelation, and in this case, it had been the secret George Glenn had revealed, the fact that he was a Coordinator.

The coast of the U.K. faded into the distance as Air Force One headed for home. President Hilson could hardly believe what some people were claiming.

'"_Coordinators are better than Naturals." "Naturals are inferior to Coordinators." Doesn't anyone know that Coordinators are able to pick up on the distrust Naturals have for them? Don't people realize that Coordinators think those things just to feel better about themselves? Man…if I could, I would just about punch everyone who thinks those types of thoughts and yell at them to actually get to know a Coordinator.'_

But, deep down, the president knew that people would not give up on such feelings to easily. If they could though, then things would be so much easier…

* * *

_Washington D.C._

_A few hours later…_

President Hilson walked into the White House, but she did not enter the elevator to the second floor. What she did instead was walk to another elevator, which closed as soon as she was in it.

Lights flashed as the elevator descended down quite a ways, the destination unknown at the time. The doors remained closed until the elevator stopped; they only opened after the car reached a full stop.

Underneath the White House was a special hanger, not just for Air Force One or Marine One, but also for the Presidential Mobile Suit, a custom-made GM unit that lacked weapons, but was reinforced in the cockpit to make it impenetrable to every kind of threat that could take her life. But President Hilson knew that it was not impenetrable. The very thing that had been designed to save her life could also take it, because once that cockpit was sealed, nothing could open it unless it was from the outside. Hence, if the machine blew up, there was no way that she could escape. She loathed using it, and avoided doing so unless she had no other choice.

"I hate you…" she muttered to the red machine. Walking over to it, she glared at the visor above her. The U.S. leader refused to even touch it, which was why it was still sitting in the hanger below the White House.

Several U.S. Presidents had died using that very machine, and yet it was _still_ being used, even after the last president who died had told them to retire it. President Hilson frowned before turning and walking away from the Presidential GM.

In the hanger sat a few other Mobile Suits, but not the ones used by ZAFT, nor were they ORB's Astrays. Tank treads were located on the backs, with a brown and green color scheme as well as a turret that could rotate out to the side from the back where it moved during the change from tank to mobile suit. The machines were known as the Traverse Gundams due to their twin eyes and v-shaped antenna that served for radar and communications.

Three of the tank-machines were underground in the hanger to serve as escorts for the Presidential GM. President Hilson grunted once at the sight. Three Traverses were not enough to protect the Presidential GM, and even if they were, that was only three machines up against a whole regiment of enemy units.

The U.S. leader then heard a voice from behind her. "I see you were admiring the Traverse Gundams?"

She whirled around, only to see her lead agent behind her. "Oh…it's you."

Her guard smiled back. An easy going man of forty years, Agent Williams nodded. His blue eyes were partially hidden by his orange hair, but he did not care. A second-generation Coordinator, Williams was an American citizen first, and a PLANT supporter second. His loyalties lay with his home nation however, and he was a true American, despite what some claimed. The opponents of Coordinators in the Secret Service feared that it would open her up to assassination by a Coordinator from PLANT, but that had yet to come to pass, and President Hilson felt safe with Coordinators and Naturals in the Secret Service, not the other way around.

"Ma'am, we have to leave now, as you are expected back at the White House in a few minutes. And you know how long the ride back is."

The President nodded, and the two proceeded to walk to the elevator. But before they could reach it, an explosion rocked the hanger. Both President Hilson and Agent Williams were thrown to the ground as an engineer ran up. "Madam President, you need to get into the Presidential GM! It is the only safe place right now!" he cried as flames danced around the hanger.

Looking up with blood running down from her mouth, President Hilson could only wonder how this guy had gotten in so quickly. "How…how did…you get…down here…so quickly?" she rasped.

The engineer smirked. "I work here…" he said as he pointed at the red machine slowly. "Now be a good little girl and get in there so the fire can do its job…"

President Hilson's eyes widened as she realized the truth. Agent Williams caught on as well, because he pulled his gun and aimed it at the assassin. "Ma'am! You need to get into one of the machines here NOW!" he ordered her as he fired his gun.

The U.S. leader nodded and turned to run towards one of the Traverses. Air Force One and Marine One were out of the question as they had been moved to another hanger located above the underground one. That left the tank-machines as her only option.

Agent Williams ran after her, firing on the assassin as he did so. The first Traverse had its cockpit open, giving the president an opening to climb into. As soon as the sensors detected a pilot, the door closed, sealing out the smoke as air filters kicked in, drawing out the contaminated air. Fresh oxygen filled the cockpit, making President Hilson gulp down as much air as she could.

The cockpit screen was active, as the sensors had powered up the machine as soon as she had climbed in. She looked at the other Traverse that was still standing. Agent Williams was inside because the door closed on that one as well. Grabbing the controls, President Hilson began to move the Traverse towards the hanger doors, which had been blown open by the sheer force of the explosion.

Both machines managed to make it outside before another explosion hit the hanger, throwing the president's machine to the ground as Agent Williams staggered over. President Hilson grunted as her machine landed hard on its back. Her rib flared in pain, a small fire that burned too intensely. She hissed in pain, but pushed it aside as she moved her machine into a standing position. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"_I should be the one asking you that."_ Agent Williams responded over the com-line. Flames leapt about behind the two machines, but they paid them no heed.

Agent Williams then moved his machine away as he went to look for the assassin, leaving the president unguarded. While that was a career-ending move right there, it proved to be the best decision of his life, as it showed that even the president could be useful in a battle as well as hold her own against an enemy.

President Hilson sat back, grunting as her broken rib flared in pain again. "Damn…that hurts…" she growled as she squinted one eye shut.

As she sat waiting, another two machines made their way over to her. The cockpit alarm blared, making the president whip her head over at the oncoming unit. It did not come up on the register, making her wonder if it was an enemy. The single mono-eyes flaring made her gasp. It was a ZAFT GINN and a BuCUE! Swearing in her mind, President Hilson grabbed the controls and pulled hard. The Traverse moved back just in time to avoid a laser from the ZAFT GINN.

Her machine staggered as she panted. The fact that she was already on adrenaline made her grip the controls even tighter as more flowed into her veins. _"So…we get to take out the President of NASA herself. What a surprise."_

President Hilson snarled as she realized that the attackers were from ZAFT indeed. _'So, Hong Fa Wu sent assassins to kill me, huh? Well, he's about to learn that I will not go down so easily!'_ she thought as she moved the Traverse into a firing position.

Despite being out of the armed forces for quite some time, her training kicked in. Instincts undulled by the annals of time moved quicker than she could react, sensing danger before the alarm did. Turning her machine to the right, the president was able to avoid a sword strike by the GINN. From there, everything was by reflex. President Hilson did not have to think of her next action, as her body reacted on its own.

The GINN pilot fired with his gun, but the president was able to move the Traverse into an optimal position to attack. The turret on the back of her machine began to move into position, indicating that this was the first time the beam cannon was being used. Locking into place, the cannon flipped over to its main position on the turret. Readouts began to appear in front of the U.S. leader, indicating that the cannon was charging.

"_You should not have done that."_ The BuCUE pilot sneered as he rushed her. President Hilson growled, but she pulled the trigger. A rocket flew out of a launcher on the arm of her machine, impacting the BuCUE on the head. The machine blew up in a fireball, but that was not the president's worry. The GINN then rushed her, sword out and at the ready.

"_You will pay for that, Natural! Now I will show you just what it is like to fall to the new master race!"_ the pilot screamed.

For an instant, President Hilson was shaking. Sweat covered her head as he breathing rate increased. Panting, her pulse quickened, and her hands were drenched in sweat. "M-m-master r-r-race…?"

"Did…he just say…'m-master r-race'…"

The GINN ran at her machine, unaware of what was happening. _"You shall fall to the Master Race and be enslaved!"_

"Master…race…? Is that what you are…a so-called 'Master Race'? Is that what you are?!" she screamed as a hazel object appeared in her mind, pulsing with each angry word she shouted out. "THERE IS NO MASTER RACE!"

With that declaration, the object exploded in a shower of sparks. "No one shall be enslaved!" President Hilson snarled as the cannon's charge rate reached 100%. Pulling the trigger, a powerful beam lanced out. "Have a taste of the Liberty beam cannon!"

The GINN pilot was unable to dodge the beam, making President Hilson the only survivor left of the battle. By the time Agent Williams arrived with back-up, the president was in her machine unconscious…

* * *

Chapter is complete. ZAFT tried to attack New Juneau, which led to Aki' and Josh being captured. Nicol lives, but is now an enemy prisoner. President Hilson also gets involved in combat now, as ZAFT is now refusing to stay limited to the Earth Forces. As for Heero, he will play an important role that is to come yet.

Anyway, constructive criticism is appreciated, as are reviews. Flames, AKA hate-filled/spamming reviews, **_will_** be reported and/or deleted depending on if they are signed or not. Reviews are welcomed as well as encouraged.

Read and review!


	19. Phase 18: Grieving Skies

Phase Eighteen: Grieving Skies

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**A0930: First off, Marie is not special. She is not enhanced or anything. And Cagalli is a Natural who can go SEED, so why not? :P There have to be others that can go SEED too. There is a reason Marie went SEED, and it lies in the fact that America is known as a 'melting pot' of different cultures. :P Akira comes to his senses, but not through meeting Marie. She has more important things to do as President after all. :P No, I am not changing how Mir and Dearka meet. Wu just hates the fact that the US is so powerful, and yet will not remove Naturals from power. :P And as for Heero fighting Zane, that happens in the second arc, the Destiny saga. :P**

**KentLinuzStadfelt: Nope~! Nothing changes. :3**

**Ken Wise: Enjoy this one too~! :3**

**CT7567Rules: Interesting comparison. :3**

**Titanic X: Glad you enjoyed. :3**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, the feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

Suddenly, the Aegis exploded. The fireball engulfed the Strike and expanded, slamming into the Raven. The Raven was sent flying. "AAAAAAAAH!" Chris screamed as the Raven was slammed across and darkness took him.

Chris groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. He blink a few times as everything came back into focus. The Raven was lying on its front. The phase shift armor had deactivated and the main battery almost completely out of power. He switched over the reserve battery. It'd give him enough power to get back to the ship. The screens in the cockpit flickered to life. Most of screens displayed static. Either the screens were damaged or most of his camera had been taken out. Or maybe a little bit of both. Slowly, the Raven stood up. There were several mechanical groans that accompanied the Raven's movements. The Raven was in rough shape. The left arm was completely useless. The small hole in the left wing had grown in size as a result of the explosion. And the Raven's body had been damaged from the fire of the explosion and from being slammed into the ground. Not to mention the right leg was barely working and the right arm was completely missing along with the right wing. He had to get back to the ship before any of the ZAFT mobile suits found him.

He turned towards where the _Archangel_ crashed and started to head that way. When he remembered what exactly happened during the battle...

"Kira!"

Chris scanned the area for Strike. The explosion had thrown him deeper into the woods. But there was no trace of either the Strike or the remains of the Aegis. "Kira! Come in Kira! Can you hear me?" Chris said over the comm, hoping it was working. "Kira, respond!"

"Come on Kira, where are you?" he said to himself as he listened to static. "You and the Strike are tougher than that. Come on, where are you?"

_"...Tol...Kira...ris...please...res..."_

It was Mirillia! Chris found comfort in the fact that at least the _Archangel_ was still out there.

* * *

The bridge of the _Archangel_ was silent. Save for Miriallia's attempts to contact the two mobile suits and the Sky Grasper. They had all seen the explosion. All contact with the Strike, the Raven and Sky Grasper 3 had been lost. They all feared the worse.

"Captain, what was that explosion?" Mu asked over the comm.

"I don't know." Murrue said. "But we've lost contact with the Strike, the Raven and Sky Grasper 3."

_"...gel...This...Chris..."_

"Chris! Chris! This is the _Archangel_! Do you read?" Miri said, frantically trying to reestablish communications with the Raven.

_"Archangel...re gone...coming..."_

"Chris! We're not gone! We're still here!"

_"Archangel...This is Chris...still here...Raven's damaged..."_

"Chris. What happened to Tolle and Kira?"

_"Tolle's...dead...Kira...I...I don't know..." _Chris replied, coming in clearer.

A stunned silence filled the bridge. Miriallia let out a sob and ran out of the bridge. No one tried to stop her.

_"You have to send someone out to search for him_." Chris said.

"Captain! Three contacts on radar!" Kuzzey said.

"They're DINNs, ma'am!" Chandra said. "They'll be on us in fifteen minutes!"

"Prepare to intercept." Murrue ordered.

"Not possible, Captain." Natarle said. "Over half of our weapons are out of commission. We won't last ten minutes against them. We have to leave the area as soon as possible."

_"What about Kira?"_ Chris said. _"We just can't leave him out there!"_

"There's nothing we can do." Badgiruel said. "It's obvious that Ensign Yamato is MIA. Return to the ship. Besides, we need the Z.A.M. Gundam and Wing Zero for defense at this point."

_"But Kira-"_

"Ensign Dante, return to the ship." Murrue said.

Chris sighed. _"Yes ma'am..."_

"Captain, power has been restored." Newmann said.

"Prepare to take off once the Raven is on board." Murrue said. "What was the last known position of the Strike?"

"But Captain! We don't have enough time to search for the Strike." Natarle said. "If we stayed, you'd risk this ship as well as the lives everyone on board."

"I know that! Send out an SOS, along with the Strike's last known coordinates to ORB and NASA." Murrue ordered.

"ORB _and_ NASA?!"

"ORB will accept. We're asking them to save lives. NASA may even respond first, given how dedicated they are to saving lives of others."

"But those nations-"

"I will take full responsibility for this!" Murrue said, silencing her XO.

The damaged Raven approached the _Archangel_. One of the catapults was open for him. The Raven clumsily jumped up, landed on the catapult and staggered into the hanger. The Raven moved passed the captured Buster and Surge and came to rest in its usual spot, next to where the Strike normally stood. The Z.A.M. Gundam was still outside for defense as was Wing Zero. Chris didn't say anything as he deactivated his machine and climbed out. Once he was out of the cockpit, he tore off his helmet and slammed it into the ground, screaming as he did it. He leaned on the catwalk, his eyes watering.

"Birdie. Birdie." Kira's mechanical pet chirped, flying through the hanger before landing on Chris's head.

Normally, Chris would have swatted the bird off his head. But at the moment, he didn't care. Tolle was gone. Kira was missing. Worse, they were abandoning Kira to save themselves.

Chris slammed his fists onto the railing. He was right there and he didn't do anything. He should have known that the Aegis's pilot would have self-destructed like that. He should have tried to pull the Aegis off of the Strike.

Liz touched his shoulder. Chris turned to face her. There were tears on her face. The two hugged each other as they cried.

Elsewhere, Miri approached the flight simulator that Tolle had spent so much time in. "Tolle?" Miri said, tears in her eyes.

Mu approached the grieving girl. "Where's Tolle?" Miri asked him.

Mu didn't say anything. He hated these situations. He never knew what to say.

"Tolle cannot be dead...He just can't...Because...because..."

Miri collasped to the ground, crying. Mu reached out to her, drew his hand back before he touched her. He instead punched the flight simulator in frustration and grief. There was nothing he could do to help her.

* * *

Outside the ship, the three DINNs fired on the engines of the _Archangel_. The three beam shots were intercepted by Wing Zero, which took the blows on its shield. "Attacking a weary opponent is an act of cowardice." Heero murmured as he moved the shield away.

Nisha fired his missiles at the DINNs, but all three managed to dodge easily. It did not help that the Z.A.M. Gundam was not built for aerial combat. But Wing Zero _was_.

"_Hey, Heero. Can you try and take those guys out? I will provide cover for you."_

Heero grunted once at the offer. "Hn."

Taking to the sky, Heero pulled out his machine's beam sabers and flew right at the three DINNs. The trio darted away from Wing Zero, but Nisha's cannons forced them back into a less favorable position. Heero used the attack by Nisha to rush one of the DINNs and slice off its engines as well as a leg. The damaged machine crashed into the water with a splash.

The two remaining DINNs decided to try and attack the _Archangel_ from the top, but a missile barrage from the Z.A.M. Gundam took out one of them as the other pilot managed to dodge the slew of warheads.

The last DINN was made short work of thanks to the Buster Rifle from Wing Zero. The golden blast took out the ZAFT machine so quickly the enemy pilot had no chance of realizing what had happened until it was too late.

Wing Zero landed on the _Archangel_, the battle over…

* * *

_Aboard the _Cousteau

"Captain!" Yzak said as he entered the _Cousteau_'s bridge. "Why are we moving? Athrun, Dearka and Saul aren't back yet!"

"They're all missing, I'm afraid." the Captain said. "And Commander Le Creuset has ordered us to return to base."

"Missing? What do you mean missing?"

"What do you think it means?" Zane said, staring at the screens. "Dearka and Saul were likely shot down and Athrun likely killed himself taking out the Strike."

"WHAT?!" Yzak shouted.

"He grabbed the Strike with the Aegis and then self-destructed." Zane said. "I did see him bail out, but it's unlikely that he cleared the blast radius in time. But he did destroy the Strike and likely the Raven as well."

"Turn this ship around right now!" Yzak shouted. "There's no way that all three of them dead! We don't wear these red uniforms for nothing!"

"Those red uniforms mean that you should be able to make decisions calmly and rationally." the Captain said. "We've been ordered back. Second team has been dispatched to search the area. And we've received word that ORB is also joining in the search for survivors. If they're alive, they'll be found." He was unaware that another nation was searching as well…

* * *

_Aboard the _Archangel

"Well...This is one fine mess we've gotten ourselves in." Saul said.

The two of them had been taken to one of the locker rooms, stripped of their flight suits and dressed in simple white clothes. Their hands were tied behind their backs and a pair of armed guards was watching over them. "Shut up." one of the guards said.

A man entered the room. He wasn't wearing a uniform like the others. Rather he was wearing a dark trench-coat and pants. But there was something about him that Saul found familiar. But he couldn't figure out what it was.

"More kids." the man said. "You'd think that they would have entrusted those stolen mobile suits to people that were older and more experienced."

"You seem familiar." Saul said.

"I could say the same about you." the man said. "Wait. What's your name?"

"Saul Kessel."

The man started to laugh. "You're Diana Kessel's little brother? The one she's always complaining about? Yes. Now I recognize you. You're the lazy slacker."

"Hacker. I'm the lazy hacker. What about it?" Saul said.

"You don't recognize me?"

Saul stared at the man. There was something familiar about him, but he just couldn't place it.

"No. Why..." he said as it suddenly dawned on him. "Wait minute! Now I recognize you! But you're dead!"

"Okay. I'm confused. What's going on here?" Dearka asked as the man continued to laugh. "You know this guy?"

"Yeah. This prick's the Black Hawk. Commander John Alaric." Saul said.

"What? No way! You mean the guy that fought the Tiger actually was the Black Hawk!" Dearka said. "Wait a minute! You don't look like the Black Hawk. The Black Hawk had-"

"Longer hair, a beard, and a mustache? It's called shaving kid. Something you have yet to experience."

"He's Alaric." Saul said. "I met him once, a few months before the war started. It's him."

"But you're a Coordinator. Why are you fighting with the Earth Forces?" Dearka asked.

"I have my reasons." he said. "None of which I have to explain to you two."

"Does my sister know that you're a traitor?" Saul said.

"She knows, along with the entire 11th Fleet as they have been aiding me since my 'death'. And we're more like patriots than traitors. We're simply doing things our own way, as we have always done."

"What do you mean 'doing things our own way'?" Dearka asked.

"There are times when people, who love their nation, must act against it to remove dangerous elements within the nation that don't have the nation and its peoples' best interests." he cryptically replied.

Alaric turned to the two guards. "Now, the Captain wants us to take them to the infirmary, so the doctor can check them over before they're put in the brig."

A few minutes later, the five of them were walking down the halls towards the infirmary.

"Well, at least you got one cute girl on this ship." Dearka said as they approached a group of crew members, one of which was a sad-looking, brown haired girl.

"Must you hit on every cute thing in a skirt?" Saul said.

Dearka ignored him and turned his attention to the girl. "Aw...What's with the tears?" Dearka taunted. "Saul and me are ones that should be crying."

"Well, you should be crying." Saul said. "You got shot down by a single fighter. What kind of Red Coat gets shot down by a fighter?"

"Hey! That was no ordinary fighter!" Dearka said as they continued down the hall.

"Excuses. Excuses." Saul said.

* * *

_Aboard an ORB Transport Plane_

_A Few Hours Later_

Athrun slowly opened his eyes. Sunlight was shining through the window, onto his face. He slowly sat up and groaned from the pain of his injuries.

"I see your awake." a familiar voice said.

Athrun turned his head. It was the girl, Cagalli, holding a gun at him. "At the moment, you're aboard an ORB aircraft." she said, moving closer to the bed. "We decided to take you in after we found you lying on the beach."

"What does a neutral nation like ORB want with me?" Athrun asked. "Or am I in the hands of the Earth Forces now?"

"There's something I have to know." Cagalli said. "Were you the one who destroyed the Strike?"

Athrun bowed his head, unable to look her in the eye. "Yes...That was me."

"What happened to the pilot?" Cagalli desperately asked. "We couldn't find him anywhere. Did he eject like you?"

"He's dead...Because I killed him..."

Cagalli's eyes widened as her arm holding the gun began to shake.

"It's true...I grabbed the Strike with my Aegis and self-destructed. I don't see how he could have escaped."

Cagalli grabbed him by the collar and jammed her gun under his chin. "It was the only option I had left..." Athrun said, raising his head.

Their eyes met as tears slid down Athrun's face. Cagalli slammed him down on the bed and looked ready to shoot him, when she let go of him. "DAMMIT!" she shouted as she punched a wall while her own tears appeared.

Athrun sat up again. "But why am I still alive?" he said, more to himself than to Cagalli. "I must have gotten out just in time."

Cagalli spun around and pointed the gun at Athrun again. "Or maybe you're the one destined to kill me."

"Kira...took too many risks and didn't always know what he's doing and always cried...But he was kind! He was a nice guy!" Cagalli shouted.

A sad smile spread across Athrun's face. "Yeah...Sounds like he didn't change a bit. He was always like that."

"Did you..."

"He was a sentimental crybaby and he was smart but never thought things through."

"You really knew Kira?"

"Yes...We were close. We were friends ever since we were child. We were the best of friends."

"But then...That's crazy! If you were such great friends, then why did you kill him?" Cagalli said grabbing his collar.

"I don't...I have no idea why either!" Athrun shouted back as his tears returned.

"We separated as friends and the next time I saw him, we were enemies. I asked him to come with us, over and over. Because he was a Coordinator! Don't you see? He was one of us! He didn't belong with the Earth Forces!" Athrun said. "But he wouldn't listen! He fought against us! Even hurting friends of mine! Then he killed Nicol!"

"So that's why-"

"He wasn't on my side anymore! He was an enemy! I had no other choice but to kill him!" Athrun said, trying more to rationalize it in his own mind than Cagalli's.

"You idiot! How could you have come up with something so stupid? How could you do something so terrible?" Cagalli shouted.

"He killed Nicol! He was fifteen! He loved to play the piano! He only fought to protect the PLANTs! And Kira murdered him!"

"Kira was fighting to protect the people he cared about! He didn't deserve to be killed, and by his best friend of all people!"

Athrun didn't say anything, but a fresh set of tears rolled down his face.

"Someone's killed for killing another! Then that guy is killed for killing him! How is that twisted thinking ever going to bring peace?" Cagalli said, crying.

Cagalli held on to Athrun and leaned her head onto his shoulder. Suddenly, the door opened and an old man in an ORB Military uniform entered the room.

"Sorry to interrupt." the man said. "But we received word from the team that recovered the remains of the Blitz. There were no remains within the cockpit. Likely the pilot survived and was captured by the _Archangel_. I figured that he would want to know."

The news hit Athrun like a ton of bricks. Nicol was alive...He was alive...Then he had killed Kira over nothing...He had killed his best friend for nothing...absolutely nothing...

"What...What have I done..."

* * *

_Pacific Islands…_

A small fleet of ships headed into an area that was littered with the remains of machines and parts of a ship. The commanding officer of the fleet glanced back at the radar-man, hoping for an answer. "Well, any sign of life?"

There was a slight shake of the head before the radar acted up. He grabbed the console, looking shocked. "T-there is, sir! Off the starboard side, ten degrees south, 15 meters away!"

"You heard him, men! We have a survivor! Launch the Zodiacs and head to that area at once! Retrieve the Strike's pilot!" the fleet commander shouted.

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

_NASA Transport Shuttle..._

Soldiers stood guard as the famous Reverend Malchio walked in. On the bed was a boy with severe injuries, bandages covering the majority of them. "So, this is the boy that you found?" he asked, turning his blank gaze to the soldier in charge.

"Yes, Reverend." The soldier replied, bowing to him as deeply as she could.

The older man looked back at the young passenger, his gaze, even though it was blank, filled with disappointment. _'So young and already a soldier…is this what the war is coming to?'_

"We already have ZAFT identification crafted for him, as the only real place he can be treated is the PLANTs." The soldier said from beside the Reverend.

"What about in NASA? Why can't you treat him there and give him one of the machines?"

The soldier was silent before speaking. "It…would raise too much suspicion as he is an Earth Alliance soldier, despite being a Coordinator. And we cannot risk it."

"I see. Very well, then. I shall accept the decision."

"Sir…"

Reverend Malchio then faced the soldier. "So, what is the cover story you have for him?"

"Well, we decided that he would be under the guise of a ZAFT red that was shot down in his mobile suit and injured even though he survived the crash. This way the PLANTs wouldn't hesitate to accept his return. Luckily for us, the PLANT leadership will buy the story as they are accepting of us as allies. I just hope that it goes off without a hitch."

"As do I, soldier…as do I…"

* * *

_New Juneau, brig section…_

Akira Nishikama sat in his cell, wondering if he was going to be executed by the NAZAFT officers who ran the place. There were rumors about ZAFT pilots being captured by NAZAFT and experimented on to see how they were engineered, and stories of young pilots like him being killed just for the fun of it, not to mention stories of how captured ZAFT pilots were sold to the Natural royalty that ruled the countries in the alliance!

He was scared now, and it did not help that ZAFT was now attacking its own fellow colony no less. If ZAFT attacked, then he was as good as dead!

But upon being retrieved from his machine, he had been handed clothes that had his last name on them, and not a number. On top of that, he had been treated decently so far, but he knew that could change anytime soon.

The door hissed open, revealing a guard in a white uniform that was just like ZAFT's, except for the patch on the left shoulder. And the customary Z had three stars over it as well.

"I heard that you were part of ZAFT's famed 7th Fleet. Care to explain why ZAFT sent you to attack us?" the guard asked.

"How should I know? They just sent us the orders and told us that you were the target." Aki' replied as he looked down at the floor.

The guard was silent at the information, but deep down, he suspected it had to do with Wu and his ambitions. That did not bode well for anyone under any circumstances.

"So, you just do as you are told now?" he asked.

Aki' glared at the guard with malice in his golden eyes. "No, we don't! But if we didn't, then ZAFT would brand us traitors and have us executed!" he snapped back.

"Don't you realize that you are considered a traitor now that you have been captured by us?"

That made Aki' gasp in shock as horror flooded his body. He looked at his hands shakily, eyes smaller than normal. "'Any ZAFT officers captured by NAZAFT are to be executed upon their retrieval.' Those are Chairman Wu's exact words." The guard said as Aki' shook with disbelief.

"It…it can't be true…there's just no way…I mean…" Aki' was unable to speak clearly, but the words he was trying to say were evident in his body language and in his eyes.

The guard felt bad for telling him that, but he needed to know, otherwise there would be no way for him to get out of returning to the PLANTs as a traitor.

Especially now…

But it was needed, as ZAFT was now going down the path that _everyone_ in NASA had feared: the path of conquerors and ruthless rulers. The guard could only hope that the NASA leadership made the choice soon, otherwise things were over for the alliance _and_ the human race…

* * *

_The _Archangel

_Later That Night_

"Come on you guys! I'm begging you!" Mu said, trying to get the hanger crews to prepare his Sky Grasper for launch.

"Don't be a fool." John said. "There's nothing you can do for him."

Mu ignored him and started loading extra supplies on his fighter.

"If you somehow manage to find the kid, just what then? ZAFT forces are likely still in the area." he said. "You'll be lucky to get to the island without being attacked."

"Commander!" Murrue called out, running towards them.

"At last, someone that can talk some sense into him." John said.

"Give the mechanics some time to rest." Murrue said.

"Have we received any word from ORB or NASA yet?" Mu asked.

"No. But-"

"Have we reached Alaska's air defense space?"

"Yes. But-"

"Then I'm going."

"I won't allow it." Murrue said.

"But what if he managed to get out in time?!"

"And I would be the first to volunteer to go out and search for him. But right now, that's impossible." Murrue said. "And given the current situation, I cannot permit you to go out alone either."

Noting the change in Murrue's tone, John decided that this conversation no longer for him to be a part of. And he quietly left the two.

"Commander, if you didn't come back and we lost you too...I don't know..." she said, her eyes watering. "Have faith. Pray for Kira. And stay here."

Mu put a hand on her shoulder. "Understood."

* * *

Nicol quietly sat on the floor of his cell, writing another musical piece. Chris was a life saver. If he hadn't managed to bring him paper and a pencil, he probably would have lost it a couple of days ago. At least now he could do something to kill time. Chris also frequently brought him his meals and would stay and talk for a while.

His stomach growled, loudly. Nicol hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. There had been a battle shortly after he had given his breakfast and no one had stopped by his cell since the battle ended.

Suddenly, the brig door opened. Nicol quickly stuffed the paper and pencil under his mattress. A weary looking Chris, holding a food tray, stepped in front of the cell doors. Nicol could tell that something bad had happened just from looking at him. "Sorry about forgetting to bring you lunch. I...There's been a lot going on." he said as he slid the food tray through the slot.

Nicol grabbed the tray began eating with gusto. "The Buster and the Surge were captured in the last battle."

Nicol's eyes widened as he stopped eating. "Are the pilots-"

"They're fine." Chris said. "Actually...They should have been moved into their own cells hours ago. I think I better go ask someone about that."

Chris turned and started heading for the door. "Wait!" Nicol called out. "Was anyone else shot down during the battle?"

"The Duel was damaged but retreated." Chris paused for moment. "The Aegis...The Aegis grabbed the Strike and self-destructed. I don't know if either of them made it."

Chris left the brig without saying another word. "Please Athrun. Be okay." Nicol quietly said, worried about his friend.

* * *

Chris sighed as he aimlessly wondered the halls. They had reached the safety of the Alaska Air Defense Zone and ZAFT had given up. They'd reach JOSH-A the next morning. And then...Well he didn't know what would happen when they got there. It did not help that the Raven was damaged beyond repair either, as he would likely be blamed as a ZAFT spy for the damage.

Everyone was having a difficult time with Tolle's death and Kira's disappearance as well. Chris had spent the day alone for the most part. Wondering the halls or just sitting somewhere. Flay had tried to comfort him, but he just wanted to be left alone for now.

He turned a corner and came face to face with Sai as he left the infirmary. Neither he nor Flay had spoken with Sai since it happened. But he figured that maybe now would be the time to try to patch things up between.

"Sai." he said.

"...Chris." Sai said as politely as he could.

"I'm sorry about everything. I never wanted or intended for what happened to happen." he said. "I just wanted to help Flay out with her grief over her father's death. But then…Well, you know what happened. Again, I'm sorry about this whole mess."

Sai opened his mouth. "I-"

Suddenly, they heard some muffled shouting and a loud crash. It was coming from the infirmary. Chris and Sai ran into the room. The blond haired prisoner was lying on the ground, his hands bound and bleeding from a cut on his forehead. The other prisoner was sitting on one of the beds, trying to break free of his bonds to help his comrade. Standing over the blond was Miriallia, holding a knife. Her face was a mixture of grief and rage. Heero was there along with Nisha, the former ready to attack as well.

Both Sai and Chris grab Miri, stopping her from attacking the prisoner again. "What the hell is her problem?" the other prisoner shouted.

The two teens ignored him, focusing on Miri. "Miri! Stop it!" Sai said as they tried to get the knife from her hands.

"Doing this won't change anything!" Chris added.

"Tolle's gone and he's never coming back! And yet this creep...What is this scumbag doing here?"

"Heero, help us!" Sai yelled. The blue eyed boy nodded, grabbing the knife from Miri just as Chris did his thing.

"I hate to have to do this." Chris said, letting go of the girl.

A second later, he slapped her. That stopped her. "Is this what Tolle would have wanted?" Chris asked. "Would he have wanted you to kill someone?"

The rage left Miri's face, leaving only her grief. Miri hugged Sai, burying her face in his shoulder, muffling her sobs. Heero placed the knife on the desk near the door as Sai comforted Miri. Chris then helped the injured prisoner back up onto the bed. "Why don't you take her back to her room?" Chris said. "I'll get the doctor to see to this guy."

Sai nodded. "Okay." he said, guiding Miriallia to her quarters. "And I accept your apology."

"You just had to make those stupid comments, Dearka." the other prisoner said once the two were gone.

"Shut up." Dearka said. "How was I supposed to know that she'd react like that?"

Chris sighed. He felt a headache coming on. "Do I even want to guess what you said?"

The other prisoner chuckled. "Probably not." he said. "When that girl came in, Dearka started taunting her about how upset she was and how soldiers shouldn't be crybabies. And he made a really bad comment about how maybe she's upset because her boyfriend got himself killed."

"That's what I thought." Chris said, rubbing his forehead. "You know, her boyfriend _did_ die in that last battle. And everyone's having a hard time right now. In fact, I wouldn't mind having a piece of you after what you said."

"Hey! How was I supposed to know that?!" Dearka said.

"It doesn't matter." the other prisoner said. "That's not something that you joke about! That girl should have cut your balls for that!"

"Hey! Don't even joke about that!"

Chris rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'll get the doctor to patch that up." he said, leaving the room.

* * *

_A Short While_

The doctor had patched Dearka's wound and now a pair of guards were escorting them to the brig. Then when they reached JOSH-A, they'd be sent to some torturous POW camp until the war ended. Something Saul was not looking forward to.

"Saul! Dearka!" a voice called out from a cell as they entered the brig.

A very, very familiar voice, a voice that they shouldn't be hearing. The two ZAFT pilots turned to the first cell. Sitting on the bunk was...Nicol, alive and well. "N...Nicol...You're alive..." a speechless Dearka managed to say.

Saul started to laugh. "I don't believe it! How did you survive that? You have got to be the luckiest guy in ZAFT!" he said as a grin spread across his face.

"Move it." one of their escorts said, jamming his gun into Saul's back.

"Okay. Okay. We're moving." Saul said. "Jeez. We just meet a friend that we thought was dead and you guys won't even let us talk to him."

"You two are going into the two cells next to his." the man said. "So it doesn't matter."

The guards opened the second cell and put Saul in it, and then they placed Dearka in the third cell. "How did you survive Nicol?" Dearka asked. "I mean that explosion...We all thought that you were dead."

"Yeah. I'm surprised I survived myself." Nicol said. "I guess I was just lucky that the Strike's sword didn't hit the cockpit."

"I'll say." Saul said. "You got a rabbit's foot on you or something. Or maybe you got a four leaf clover hiding in that green hair of yours."

All three friends started laughing. And for that moment, the war didn't exist, nor were they soldiers. Instead, for that brief moment, they were a trio of teenage friends, laughing and joking around.

* * *

_PLANTs…_

"We thank you for this action, Clyne." The shuttle pilot said as the young boy was unloaded into the colony.

"No problem. Just be glad that Wu bought the story with no complaint." Clyne replied as he looked into the eyes of the young man.

A nod from the pilot was all he needed. With that, the pilot walked back to the NASA shuttle without a single glance back.

* * *

Archangel_ brig…_

Nicol was writing away at his music when the door slid open to reveal another boy, this time not wearing the standard Earth Forces uniform. Instead he was wearing a green sleeveless shirt with blue jeans and black shoes. Brown hair matched his blue eyes, which seemed to be cold and emotionless.

"Oh. Hey, Heero." Nicol said as he looked up. Said boy grunted once.

"Hn."

He held a food tray for Dearka and Saul. Dearka looked over, only to see the person who was bringing him his food. "And you are?"

The boy just glared at him with cold blue eyes. "None of your business. If you knew, I would have to kill you."

"So talkative…" Dearka muttered sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. Saul did not respond to Dearka's remark, instead staring at the boy who was setting down the food trays in front of their cells.

The boy did not seem like an Earth Alliance soldier, but the way he carried himself could be mistaken as such. He seemed to be lanky in build, almost as if undernourished, but that was not the case, as his muscles were visible beneath his shirt. His blue eyes were cold and hard from no doubt countless battles, but there was a certain weariness in them as well.

"Are you a child soldier of the Earth Alliance?" Saul inquired. Dearka looked at the boy outside the cells in shock and confusion.

"He can't be…he's much too young! I mean, he can't be older than 11 years old at most!" Dearka protested in shock.

The boy, Heero, glared at Dearka with a cold look that would have even made Le Creuset back up in fright. "I am 16 years old. And, no, I am not an Earth Alliance child soldier if that is what you are thinking." He growled.

"But you fight with the legged ship!" Dearka exclaimed, a smug tone in his voice.

"Only because they took me in when I had nowhere else to go. And given my situation, it was highly unlikely that I would be helped by anyone except for the _Archangel_, which is the name of the ship you are now on."

Dearka tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Your situation? What do you mean?"

The sound of a gun clicking into the safety-off position was his cue to shut up. "Ulp!"

Heero pulled his side-arm and aimed it at Dearka with an emotionless look in his eyes. "If you knew that, I would have to kill you, no matter what your situation." He muttered back.

Dearka was silent as Saul then realized something. "Hey, aren't you a Coordinator as well?"

"No, I am not."

This made Dearka and Saul look at one another before Dearka busted out laughing. "You? There is no way in hell that _you_ could be a Natural! You're too skilled to be a mere Natural!"

"I _am_ a Natural," Heero replied coolly. "And most of the people on this ship are Naturals as well, so if you think about harming any one of them, I will be forced to take drastic measures."

Dearka could only smirk in a cocky arrogant way. "And what would you, a mere Natural, do to us, the superior Coordinators? Use your meek and useless Mobile Armor to defeat us? How cute!" he purred.

Heero's gaze turned to ice as Saul gasped. He had never seen such a cold gaze before in his entire life, and that did not include his sister, who would also be scared by that kind of gaze that this boy now held.

"I will kill you…"

Saul gulped as Dearka continued his taunting. "How, with a mere bullet using gun on your Mobile Armor that you can't even use properly?"

"…no. Zero."

"Are you talking about a Moebius Zero?"

"Wing Zero. That is my machine. And I believe that you have seen it before."

Dearka gasped as he recalled that machine he had seen earlier. "You pilot _that_ machine?!" Saul was also stunned, but for another reason. The same pilot was now before him, a pilot who had, on countless occasions, had the chance to kill him and the others.

"Why?"

Heero glanced to Saul, who continued speaking. "Why did you not kill us?"

The boy looked down before he glanced back up. "I will not take a life if it is not called for, and those times were not such situations."

With that said, he turned and left, leaving behind two newly stunned Coordinators as well as one relieved prisoner of war.

* * *

_NASA capital, Washington D.C…_

President Hilson opened her eyes, her head throbbing as she sat up. "Ugh…"

Agent Williams, her guard, peeped in. "Ah! Glad to see you awake ma'am." He said as he entered the room.

"What happened?" the president asked.

Williams was silent before he spoke. "There…was a…assassination attempt on you, and by the radical faction of ZAFT no less. It was only by pure luck that we got out in time."

"No. I mean after that. Didn't a couple of ZAFT Mobile Suits infiltrate Washington?"

Agent Williams looked up at her. "Is _that_ what happened? I didn't know. Did you defeat them?"

President Hilson gaped at what the man was saying. _She_ had fought the ZAFT units and won? It did not seem likely as she was a Natural and they had been Coordinators. True, she had been in the Traverse machine at the time and that had a Natural-use OS, but even that should not have been enough to beat a couple of trained Coordinators, and ZAFT aces no less.

"Are you sure it was me and not someone else?"

Her guard just nodded, further cementing the idea that she had indeed done the task. "You did, as you were the only other one inside a Traverse at the time. There was no one else inside such a machine at the battle site, and your machine was the only one standing."

Realization sank in as the U.S. leader fell back onto the bed. "There's…just no way…how in the world did _I_ beat a couple of ZAFT trained aces and Coordinators with no trouble?"

Agent Williams just looked at her and shrugged. "I have no idea. I tried to contact you to see if you were alright, but there was no answer from the cockpit. I could only worry about you, and when we got you out of the cockpit, you were unconscious from either blood loss or hitting your head, but the latter is not likely as there was no injury to your head."

"It wasn't that, or blood loss."

"Eh?"

"I saw…a small…_thing_…before I passed out…It looked like a…_seed_…almost…and it exploded. Then…everything became clear to me…almost like a berserker mode…"

Agent Williams stared at her, but did not say anything of it. It was either a one-time thing, or it had been a hallucination of some kind caused by blood loss.

Still, he could not deny that he had seen her results from the battle site, and wondered if this had been the cause of her being able to stand up to the two ZAFT pilots that had attacked them in the hanger earlier that week.

* * *

_PLANT capital, Aprilius One_…

"We've got a problem!" the infamous Mr. Pink said, bouncing around in the backyard of the Clyne residence.

"Mr. Pink! Don't go there!" Lacus called out as the pink Haro entered the glass sunroom.

The Haro landed on the bed in the sunroom. Lacus followed after it and grabbed it from the bed before it could wake up the boy in the bed. There was a groan and the boy's eyes opened. "Oh. Good morning, Sleepy Head." Lacus cheerfully said.

Kira blinked a few times. "Where...Where am I..."

* * *

Chapter is complete. Heero has a small confrontation with Dearka, which he wins. President Hilson recovers from her battle, and the legged ship reaches NASA.

Anyway, constructive criticism is appreciated, as are reviews. Flames, AKA, hate filled/spamming reviews, **_will_** be deleted **_AND/OR_** reported depending on if they are signed or not. Anyway, everyone else, keep sending in those reviews! ^^


	20. Phase 19: Gathering Darkness

Phase Nineteen: Gathering Darkness

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**Titanic X: Glad you do. :)**

**Just a Crazy Man: Glad you do. :3**

**A0930: Glad you liked it all. And yes, everything will become clear as the story goes on. ;3**

**CT7567Rules: You will like the next chapters for sure~! :3**

**KentLinuxStadfelt: Yes, he is still in, and if you want it to be changed, I can work with it.**

**Laziness Rules: Here it comes~! :3**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, the feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

**Anyway, read and review!**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

_JOSH-A_

_The Next Morning_

"The _Archangel_. I never thought it would make it here." Colonel Moore said as they watched the video feed of the _Archangel_ entering JOSH-A.

"You think maybe Halberton's force of will protected it?" Vice Admiral Michaels jokingly said.

"Those young Coordinators were the ones who really protected it."

"Captain Sutherland, don't be so sure of that. I heard that a Natural with a powerful machine also helped out in that regard. Luckily, the destruction of the Strike and the declaration of its pilot as MIA can be considered a fortunate accident for us." Captain Oswald said. "A shame the same fate couldn't have befallen the Raven and its pilot. Luckily the Raven was destroyed, so we can call the machine a lucky loss."

"The GAT series is going to be our main weapon. We're going to get a lot of use out of them in the future. And we don't want people saying they were operated by Coordinator children." Sutherland said.

"You're right about that." Moore said.

Michaels hit the table with his fists. "It just seems like glaring evidence of our own inferiority!"

Sutherland pushed a button on his console. The screen displayed the schematics of the GAT-X131 Calamity, the GAT-X151 Massacre, the GAT-X252 Forbidden, and the GAT-X370 Raider. "All of the Strike's and the Raven's technology has already been transferred and furthered developed. And this time, it's we who will benefit from it."

"What have you told Azreal?" Oswald asked.

"I told him that we'd take all the necessary steps to address these problems. This was all an unfortunate situation. Just like what is going to happen here. All of this is for the preservation of our blue and pure world."

* * *

_A Small Town_

_Outside the Carpentaria Base_

"I understand that it's warming up in Alaska."

"Indeed. But it's only going to get hotter." the man replied.

He shrugged. "How's Josh?"

"He's good. He's almost finished moving. And that reminds me. Mr. Angel gave me something to give to you." the man said, reaching into his pocket and handing him a disk.

"Thank you." Zane said with a grin as he took the disk. "I'm sure that this will be quite helpful."

* * *

_Aprilius One_

"Obani's Compromise Plan? What's the point in bringing something like this to the table now?" Hong Fa Wu, the newly elected PLANT Supreme Council Chairman said. "Operation Spitbreak will proceed as planned."

"I'm certainly not saying that we accept it as is. But if we proceed with the Operation, there is no doubt that we will stuff casualties if we go into battle." Siegel said. "We have a chance to avoid that. Shouldn't we at least make the attempt?"

"You raise a valid point, but you can't expect us to agree to these ridiculous demands." Ezalia Joule said. "They're acting like they've won the war."

"Nevertheless, we can us this to call for a temporary ceasefire and return to the negotiating table. It would give the men and women actually fighting this war a chance to rest." Ian Kessel said. "And it could actually end the war peacefully. We owe to everyone that's fighting in war, their families and those that have been lost, on both sides, to try."

Many in the Council were still surprised by Ian's steadfast determination. His son had been declared missing in action, likely dead. And yet unlike Tad Elsman, whose son was also missing, and Yuri Amalfi, whose son had been killed, who had slipped into the background of the Council, Ian was still just as strong and as determined as he was before, much to annoyance of Hong Fa Wu, as was Patrick Zala, whose son had also been declared missing in action.

"This is only their crude way of buying time." Jeremy Maxwell said.

"Of course. They know we're going to launch a massive operation soon. But truthfully, it's unlikely that they could fortify Panama any further without dangerously weakening other important bases. And I don't think Operation Spitbreak will be a success in the long run." Ian said. "I've been looking at the numbers and estimates for the Operation and well as the latest troop estimates at Panama. And frankly, this Operation could be damaging for us in the long run."

"It's obvious to anyone with half a brain that the best target for us to hit is Panama. The loss of Panama would cripple their space forces. But the number of troops at Panama will guarantee at least loss of a forty to forty-five percent of our forces. Our holdings on Earth will be critically weakened afterwards and the Earth Forces could likely take back much of what we've gained." Ian said. "Unless... You've got a hidden ace up your sleeve Wu, something that you've kept hidden from us."

Hong Fa Wu scowled. The bastard was trying to ruin everything! If he revealed Operation Spitbreak's true target, Clyne's supporters would try to stop it because they never voted on an attack on JOSH-A. The weak fools didn't realize anything! Hacking off the limbs of beast will only weaken it. You have to cut off the head of the beast to kill it.

Worse, the more they delayed, the greater the chances the Earth Forces of getting wind of his plan, ruining everything.

"No. I have not kept anything important from the Council." he calmly said. "You are underestimating our forces and overestimating the strength of the Earth Forces. Operation Spitbreak will be a major success and help bring a quick end to the war. And there is no reason to consider Obani's proposal at this point. Operation Spitbreak will go ahead as planned."

"Arrogance in war, only leads to disaster. You might wish to remember that Wu." Kessel said. "For if Spitbreak fails, it will be those fighting this war that will suffer for it. Not us."

* * *

_The Office of Ian Kessel_

_An Hour and a Half Later_

Ian sighed as he sat down at his desk, letting his fatigue show. He glanced at the framed pictures on his desk, pictures of his wife and children, his eyes lingering on a picture of his son.

Missing, presumed dead. That's what they had listed him as.

He never should have pushed him as hard as he did. He wished he had told Saul how proud he had been of him.

_BEEP BEEP_

He sighed as his mask returned. "Yes?"

_"Sorry to bother you sir. But we just received a communication from Commander Kessel. Shall I patch it through?"_

"Yes. And make sure that it's completely secure."

Diana's face appeared on the screen in his desk. _"Father."_ she said with nod. "_Has there been any word?"_

"No. They haven't found any trace of him."

There was a slight frown on her face. Most people won't have noticed it. But he knew his daughter. She was a woman skilled at keeping her emotions from showing. That frown spoke volumes on how she was feeling.

_"I see. What about Operation Spitbreak?"_

"It's still on. What do you think of Wu's plan? I know he's asked for the 11th Fleet to be with the first assault wave."

_"It's risky. Wu thinks that Earth Forces can't possibly beat us. His arrogance and false sense of invincibility will get good men and women killed."_ she said. _"And Ajay has a bad feeling about the Operation."_

"And you trust his gut?"

_"After Endymion, there's not a single person in the Fleet that would doubt his gut."_

Ian chuckled. "Trusting someone's feelings over logic? That's not like you."

_"Don't ask me how, but somehow, he is able to tell when something bad is going to happen."_ Diana said. _"None of us doubt his sixth sense for danger."_

"That reminds of paper I read some time ago about a theory of the next step of human evolution."

_"You mean the SEED Factor?"_

"No. It was from the same two doctors. But this was their last paper a few years ago, before they died. It was of a separate phenomenon. They claimed that people could possess unusual mental abilities. Among them, a sixth sense for these kinds of things." Ian said. "They even claimed that while 0.001 percent of the human population was born with these abilities, an estimated one percent could develop these abilities given the right circumstances. And that those numbers were rising with each generation. They claimed these people were latest step in humanity's evolution towards becoming a new type of being and weren't dependent on being Coordinator or Natural. In fact, they dubbed those people Newtypes."

_"Interesting. I'll have to take look at that." _Diana said.

"Indeed. But we're getting off topic. If you fear the Operation, what will you do?"

_"I think we'll be delayed due to mechanical problems. It happens from time to time with all the upgrades we give to our mobile suits and ships."_ Diana said. _"We'll probably have to call the Junk Guild for some assistance."_

"For the life of me, I'll never understand how Alaric managed to create that private arrangement you have with them."

_"He promised them access to any new ZAFT technology he got his hands on."_

"Speaking of new technology, our new Chairman has revealed our newest, greatest weapons. New mobile suits using technology obtained from the stolen Earth Forces' mobile suits. And they're nuclear powered."

_"You're joking."_

"No. Wu's come up with N-Jammer Cancelers."

_"What is that fool thinking?"_

"He doesn't care, as long as all the Naturals die." Ian said with a sigh. "Someone has to stop him."

_"You're planning something, aren't you?"_

"Not just me. Clyne and many others that feel that Wu is leading ZAFT down a road that we must not take..."

* * *

_Carpentaria Base_

Athrun stared out the window as ZAFT crews were rushing to prepare for Operation Spitbreak. A few hours after waking up in the ORB vessel, he been transferred to a ZAFT vessel and taken back to Carpentaria, where he was currently recovering.

"It's Le Creuset. I'm coming in."

The door opened and Commander Le Creuset entered. Athrun straightened up and moved to salute his commanding officer "You're still injured. Don't even think of getting up." Creuset said.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir." Athrun quietly said.

"Nonsense. You were splendid. I heard about everything."

"Splendid?"

As far as Athrun was concerned, there was nothing splendid about what he had done.

"I should be the one apologizing for not getting you help sooner. The sacrifices made were significant. But I'm afraid they couldn't be helped." Creuset said. "It's a testament to how formidable your friend really was."

A fresh wave of guilt hit Athrun.

"I know it's been a difficult series of battles for you. Miguel, Nicol, Commander Waltfeld, Commander Morassim. They, and many others, have lost their lives to him. Since you are the one to defeat him, your skills are highly valued by the homeland. The decision has been made to honor you with the Order of the Nebula."

Athrun didn't deserve a medal as far as he was concerned.

"Also, much to my regret, you've been transferred to the Special Forces reporting directly to the National Defense Committee."

Athrun looked up at his Commander. "Transferred? But Commander-"

"You're a top gun now, Athrun. You are to be the pilot of our latest mobile suit. You've been instructed to return to the homeland and receive the new mobile suit."

"But sir! This is too much. I-"

"Your father's comrade is now the Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council. But you already knew that."

"Yes."

"Chairman Wu has been pushing for a quick end to this war." Creuset said, putting his hand on Athrun's shoulder. "Personally, I would like nothing more than for this war to end. For that reason, I want you to do whatever you can to bring this war to a quick end."

"I understand sir." Athrun said. "But there's something else."

"Yes?"

"When I was on the ORB vessel, they said that they recovered the remains of the Blitz, but they didn't find any sign of his body. Nicol could still be alive."

"I see. But that isn't enough to change his status to MIA."

"But Commander! What if he's still alive?"

"And what if he isn't? His family is still grieving over his loss. If you gave them that hope, only to later take it from them. The pain they feel now will pale compared to that pain. Do you really want them to feel that?"

Athrun did not know what to say after that.

* * *

_NASA capital, Washington D.C…_

President Hilson walked down to the airport where Air Force One was parked, awaiting her arrival. She noted the open cabin door, recalling that she was asked to head up to JOSH-A where the _Archangel_ was located.

"Ma'am, Air Force One awaits you." Her guard said as he walked beside her.

"Thank you." She replied as she walked up to the steps and got onboard. Agent Williams followed her, closing the door behind them as soon as he was inside as well.

The two sat down as the massive plane began to take off. The engines whined as they powered up, the thrust pushing the aircraft to the runway. Once in position, the presidential plane took off, the acceleration pushing the U.S. leader and her staff back into their seats slightly before reaching cruising speeds as the plane climbed higher and higher as it began the journey to JOSH-A.

* * *

_New Juneau_

Akira sat in his cell, looking at the small T.V. that was on the wall. There was news on the PLANT battle campaigns as well as news stories on NASA and other nations on Earth.

On the small screen, there were images of EA officers savagely beating other Naturals and killing innocent civilians for no reason at the moment. It made him sick that he had to see that, and it only increased his hatred of the Earth Forces.

"Why of all places, did I end up _here_?!" he growled. Of course, it was better than being treated as a piece of garbage on Earth. And better than being killed in the PLANTs. But he still did not like the fact that he was now a prisoner of war.

The guard from the day before walked over with his food, prompting Aki' to look in his direction. "I brought you your food." The guard said as he set down the tray.

Starving, Aki' grabbed the tray and began to gobble down the food that was before him. Compared to the military rations he had to eat when on the ZAFT ships and on the field, this was even better. Not to mention that it was real food no less.

A smile crossed the guard's face. It seemed that the boy was calmer now. Perhaps he would be ready to hear the news sooner than expected. But when that was, well, it was up to the commander, not him.

"So, you heard about the Earth Forces' actions as of late?" the guard asked.

Aki' just growled. "Yes. It makes me sick just even hearing about it. I can't believe that they still want to fight the PLANTs, even when they are losing." He replied.

His watcher just looked on, his gaze never faltering. "You hate them even more now, right? Why? They are just as human as us."

Enraged golden eyes met the guard's blue ones. "You heard what they did! They killed innocents for no reason! Not to mention, they _murdered_ my own sister! They _MURDERED_ her in cold blood, and put her through so much pain, I can't believe that they were able to sleep at night!" Aki' snapped back.

"So, your sister was the one killed all those years ago? I recall that very clearly. And yet, ZAFT did nothing to arrest the people involved. Tell me, who do you hate more, ZAFT for not doing anything, or the EA for what they did to her?"

Aki' just looked at the guard, confused as to what he meant. "What do you mean?"

"Do you hate ZAFT for not doing anything?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then tell me, why is your hatred of the Earth Forces stronger than your hatred for ZAFT?"

Aki' could not answer. He had never bothered to consider that ZAFT had done nothing to help his family get justice. In fact, he could not recall ZAFT doing _anything_ to get him and his family justice for her senseless death.

"I…just…I don't know…" he sighed at last.

The guard just looked at him before speaking again. "ZAFT did nothing to help your family out, and that allowed the Earth Forces to get away with what they did. So, if you think about it, ZAFT is the _real_ cause of your hatred of the Earth Alliance."

Aki' looked up at the guard, wondering if what he said was true.

"_ZAFT_ is the cause of my hatred for the EA?"

A nod of the head made the young ZAFT officer put his head in his hands as he groaned. "What am I supposed to believe? I just don't know!"

"Only you can determine that, ZAFT pilot Akira Nishikama." The guard replied as he turned to leave. Aki' could only watch as he left with the door hissing shut behind him.

Throwing himself onto the cot, Aki' put his hands on his head. Tears ran down his face as he cried for his sister, and for those who were lost at the hands of ZAFT _and_ the EA. The ones he had helped to kill, those who he _had_ killed, those who lost their lives, he could not take it anymore. Sitting up, Aki' grasped at the small pendant around his neck, just wanting to know what he should do. "Minako…What should I do?"

He closed his eyes, tears hitting the small pendant below. Feeling tired, Aki' lay down and finally was able to fall asleep.

* * *

_JOSH-A_

_The Next Day_

Murrue, Nartarle, the rest of the senior bridge crew, Chief Murdoch, Mu, Nisha, Heero, and Chris all sat in a group of chairs in the center of the room. They were waiting for the officer in charge of the hearing on everything that had happened since Heliopolis. A trio of officers entered the room. Everyone stood up and saluted. The officers returned the salute. "I am Captain William Sutherland of the General Staff. I've been put in charge of all instructions and deliberations regarding the Eight Fleet's _Archangel_." the officer said as he took his seat. "Please be seated."

"We've already retrieved the logs from the NavComm and are analyzing them as we speak. I must say, Captain Ramius, your vessel's combat record is impressive. And now I like you to give us a detailed report and testimony on the preceding events. This hearing is being run according to the military regulations for a court-marshal. And in keeping with procedure, anything said here will be entered into the records. I trust you will all tell the truth."

* * *

_Aboard the _Cousteau

_Docked at Carpentaria_

_Two Hours Later_

Both Zane and Yzak left their quarters, heading for the briefing room. Commander Le Creuset was going to brief them on Opertaion Spitbreak before the Cousteau left Carpentaria. They rounded a corner, coming face to face with a violet haired girl in a red ZAFT carrying a travel bag. Upon seeing them, the girl dropped her bag. "Sirs!" the girl said, saluting them. "Saya Hawke, reporting for duty, sirs!"

Yzak and Zane returned the salute, but both had the same thought running through their heads. _'Rookie.'_

"So you're one of the replacement pilots?" Yzak said. "Where're the others?"

"Sir?"

"The other replacement pilots. And stop calling us sir. We're all the same rank here, Rookie."

"I'm the only one, sir-er...Yzak. I've been assigned to replace Nicol Amalfi." Saya said.

"What? There're only two of us left and HQ assigns us only one replacement pilot!" Yzak said.

"This is your first assignment, isn't it?" Zane said.

"Yes sir." Saya replied. "But don't worry. I was in the top of my class."

"That's as obvious as the red coat you're wearing." Zane said.

"What the hell is HQ thinking?" a very annoyed Yzak said. "Sending us only one replacement, who is as green as they get?! And on the eve of a major operation too?!"

"Sorry."

Yzak sighed. "You don't have to apologize. It's not your fault you're here." Yzak said. "Do you at least have a decent machine?"

"I've been assigned a DINN."

"Then get your stuff stowed away. We have a briefing with the Commander in fifteen minutes." Yzak said.

"Right away sir. Just one question."

"What?"

"Which way to the pilot quarters?" Saya asked with a sheepish grin on her face.

Yzak slapped his forehead while Zane seemed to struggle to keep a straight face. "How did you ever become a pilot, much less a Red Coat?" Yzak said.

"Actually, I'm quite skilled in the cockpit of a mobile suit." Saya said. "In fact, I broke several records at the Academy. Including your record on the final exam."

"Well, then you're not completely-Wait! What? You beat my record?"

"Yes sir. By five seconds."

Yzak opened his mouth like he was going to say something. But Zane cleared his throat, interrupting him. "The quarters are down the hall. Take the first right and you're there." he said. "The briefing is in the Main Briefing Room, near the bridge. Do you know where that is?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. We'll see you there."

* * *

_JOSH-A_

To Chris, the whole hearing was a joke. They were blaming Captain Ramius and Admiral Halburton for what happened to Heliopolis, the destruction of the 8th Fleet and just about anything else they could tie them to. But the vast majority of the blame was being thrown on Kira, Nisha, Aki' and himself. Because they were Coordinators and the pilots of the mobile suits. Sutherland was manipulating the facts and in some cases, ignoring the facts, all to shift the blame for the destruction of Heliopolis, Artemis and the Eighth Fleet as a result of their being Coordinators. Hell, there was no doubt in Chris's mind that if he could, he would have blamed the four of them for the entire war if he could.

"And now for the final part. We have a number of questions that we would like to ask Ensigns Dante and Itsuno." Captain Sutherland said.

Chris and Nisha stood up, as ready as they could be for whatever they could throw at them. "Sir."

"You both were civilians living in Heliopolis, correct?"

"Yes."

"Yes sir."

"But tell me, where did you live before that?"

Chris scowled. "Junius Seven."

Nisha frowned, but did not let it show. "I lived in Heliopolis for ten years."

"So not only are you Coordinators but you also lived in the PLANTs. Whom we are currently at war with. And not only that…but you, Ensign Dante, are from the very PLANT that was destroyed by a group of radical Natural terrorists and started this war." Sutherland said. "Tell me, your record doesn't say where your parents are. I was wondering if you could shed some light on this matter."

"They're dead sir." Chris said, barely keeping himself from yelling.

Sutherland was lying about not knowing his parents' fate. He knew it. Everyone from the _Archangel_ knew it. Hell, chances were that everyone in the room knew it.

"And how did they die?"

"The Bloody Valentine Tragedy."

"And you, Ensign Itsuno, lost your parents there as well?" Sutherland asked.

"My mother, sir. My father is on the ship. He worked at Heliopolis."

"I see." Sutherland said. "And you, Ensign Dante, and your sister were sent to live with your aunt and uncle at Heliopolis before it happened. Who just so happened to work at Morgenroete. And as it turns out, worked on G-Project. That's quite a coincidence. Same to you, Ensign Itsuno, because your father worked on the very same project."

"I don't understand what you're getting at sir." Chris said.

"Someone had to have tipped off ZAFT about the _Archangel_ and the mobile suits being built there."

"And you are suggesting that my sister, Nisha, and I are ZAFT spies?"

"Not at all. Though you do bring up an interesting point." Sutherland said with a slight smirk on his lips. "Unlike Ensign Yamato, who had never set foot in the PLANTs, you three grew up there. And your parents and home were destroyed by Natural terrorists. Most people would have a grudge against Naturals for that kind of thing. They would likely seek vengeance against those that were responsible and against the Earth Alliance for failing to stop such an attack from happening right underneath their noses. Perhaps they'd seek out secret information to give ZAFT as vengeance for what happened to them."

"I didn't do any of that!" an angry Chris said.

"Neither did I!" Nisha replied back.

"Who ever said you did?" Sutherland said. "I was merely speculating on how ZAFT could have found out about Heliopolis. Now, moving on. The incident in the Debris Belt with Miss Lacus Clyne. According to the records, you, along with, at the time, acting Ensign Yamato, acting Crewmen Argyle, Haw, and Dante released Miss Clyne from her cell. And then you personally brought her to the ZAFT Fleet pursing the _Archangel_ at the time. Why did you feel the need to disobey orders and endanger the ship by taking her to the ZAFT Fleet?"

"Because it was wrong for us to use her as a hostage." Chris said. "And given the choice, I would have done it again without hesitation. Do you plan to punish me for that incident _sir_?"

"No. Captain Ramius' decision was the correct one. You were not an official soldier at the time, so we cannot punish you for that." Sutherland said. "However, this all goes to further show the _uncertainly_ of your loyalties. I can't help but wonder which side you'll ultimately side with. With the Earth Alliance or with your homeland."

"I have never done anything to betray the _Archangel_ or its crew!" Chris said, barely keeping his voice under the level of a shout.

"The PLANTs are not my homeland!" Nisha countered back. "I might have been born there, but I am an American citizen first and foremost!"

"At the moment, yes. But who can tell what the future will bring." Sutherland said. "How do we know that you won't have a change of heart in the middle of a battle and betray us?"

"Why don't you just say it? You think I'm a ZAFT spy!"

"I wouldn't go that far." Sutherland said. "But there is a distinct possibility that you could be a spy."

"Finally, there is the incident with the shuttle of Heliopolis civilians that was destroyed alongside the 8th Fleet." Sutherland said. "The logs aren't clear as to what happened, other than the Raven and a GINN were fighting near it, when it was destroyed."

"Are you accusing me of that too?" Chris shouted. "I tried to protect the shuttle from the GINN!"

"No. You misunderstood me. I wasn't accusing you of destroying the shuttle." Sutherland said. "While we don't know what destroyed the shuttle, we do know that you didn't fire a single shot until after it was destroyed. I was curious about why you didn't fire on the GINN before the shuttle was destroyed. You claimed to be protecting the shuttle. But if that were true, then why didn't you fire at the GINN?"

Everyone was staring at him now. Including the crew of the _Archangel_. Chris knew they were all probably thinking the same thing. _'Why _didn't_ he fire at the GINN?'_

He wasn't even sure what to say. If he told them the truth, Sutherland would probably throw the book at him. And probably claim that it was proof that he was a spy or something like that. So his only option was to lie. "I was afraid to fire."

"Afraid to fire? You mean to say that you were afraid to fire on one of your own. Then how can we trust that this won't happen again?"

"Actually sir. I was afraid to fire with the shuttle so close to us. I feared that if I missed, the shuttle would have been hit and destroyed." he said. "Are you saying, sir, that I should have fired when a civilian craft was in danger of being hit by a missed shot?"

"No. Of course not. But I'm surprised that with your _improved_ abilities, that you weren't able to hit him."

"I'm good. But I'm not that good." he replied. "Coordinators aren't all powerful like that."

"Sure. Now, moving on again, there is the matter of Artemis base. The logs state that there was indeed a betrayal from the ship. One of your own, I presume, left and joined up with ZAFT's 'Maverick Fleet'. Is this true?"

"Yes…" Nisha replied. "He did, in fact, leave the ship."

Sutherland could not help but smirk. "Then that shows the further distrust we have for your _loyalties_ right now. If he would leave, then how can we be certain that you would not do the same?"

It was then that Heero spoke up. "Because I would not allow it."

Sutherland just brushed him off for the moment. "So, with that, I will now ask Heero Yuy some questions as well."

He then turned his gaze towards the only other pilot in the room. "Heero Yuy, I understand that you met up with the ship in Africa. Care to tell us what caused that to come about?"

"I will tell you nothing about my past."

"I see. I was not asking-"

"If you knew, I would have to kill you." Heero replied back, cutting off Sutherland's words. "It's not your place to know. Only the crew of the _Archangel_ will be allowed to know the circumstances that forced me to join up with their ship."

Sutherland could feel his face growing hot, but he did not let it get to him. "I see. Well then, would you care to tell us where you got that machine of yours?"

"No. If you try to mess with Wing Zero, it will self-destruct and blow this place off the map." Heero replied, his tone cold and icy. "My machine's combat data is of no importance to you."

Murrue stared at the way Heero was handling himself. It was like he was willing to risk it all for the ship after what they had done for him. _'Wow, Heero. You tell him.'_

Sutherland did not call Heero out on it. "So…if that is the case, then how did you manage to defeat several of NASA's machines? I heard that you attacked them to get some data of some kind. Is this true?"

"Yes, but the reasons why are of no importance to you." Heero replied in that cool tone of his. "But that does bring up an important question. Why design such an OS?"

This got Sutherland off-guard. "W-W-What?"

"With such a large coalition, one would assume that you could develop a working OS for Naturals, but you clearly demonstrated that you could not do so. That means you were planning something, or at least relying on something happening that would require such an OS to be used. NASA has a working OS for Naturals, and they are a _smaller_ coalition than even the Earth Forces. So why is it that _they_ were able to develop such an OS while _you_ could not?" Heero asked.

Mu and the others stared at Heero, amazed that he had the guts to ask a _high-ranking Earth Alliance official_ such questions.

"T-t-that is none of your business!" Sutherland replied, his face turning red with embarrassment at being caught, or at least being found out.

Heero just folded his arms. "And _I_ told you the same thing."

Murrue whistled slightly as Mu just smirked. "Well, it would appear that you can't charge Heero with anything, as he is not an Earth Forces officer."

Sutherland just glared at Mu, who continued to smirk. "That may be true, but he is still on your ship. That means he has to follow the rules that were set!"

"No. I don't. I am more of a mercenary, but my machine and its data are off-limits to any _and_ everyone that is not of the _Archangel_ crew." Heero replied.

The officer in charge just grunted. "I see. Then you will be paid as such." Sutherland replied, though Heero could tell that he did not like him for the way he had acted. Too bad. He was not playing by his rules. Rather, the man had to play by _his_ rules instead.

He smirked slightly before letting it fade. Still, something did not sit right with him, and his instincts as a Gundam pilot were often right. He just did not know the reason this time, as he had before.

Still, it was better to be cautious, he reasoned. And he was right…

* * *

_The _Cousteau

Zane, Yzak and Saya sat in the front row of the briefing room, along with a group of regular ZAFT pilots. Commander Le Creuset entered the room. All the pilots stood up and saluted. Creuset returned the salute. "At ease." he said.

The pilots all took their seats as Creuset walked in front of the group.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Operation Spitbreak." Rau said as the screen behind him displayed a map of the Operation. "Chairman Wu's plan to cripple the Earth Forces and hopefully, bring a quick end to the war, by attacking their last Mass Driver. Now the first wave will consist of a massive drop of mobile suits from space as well as large deployment of aquatic mobile suits. These units will disrupt their naval forces and coastal gun emplacements for the second wave."

"That is where we come in. The second wave will consist of an airborne attack from sub carriers as well the deployment of landers carrying BuCUEs and ZuOOTs and another mobile suit detachment from space. Our job will be aid in clearing paths for the ground mobile suits and ultimately, delivering the killing blow to the Panama base."

"Now, since Zane and Yzak are two most experienced pilots here, I'm dividing you all into two groups. One under Zane's command and the other under Yzak's. Miss Hawke, you will be Yzak's second. Stick next to him and follow his orders."

"Yes sir." Saya said.

* * *

_Rau Le Creuset's Quarters_

_A Short While Later_

"Azreal has come through for you." Zane said, pulling out the disk. "A clear route through JOSH-A's defenses and the access codes. I still don't see why you need to go."

Rau smiled and took the disk. "It's quite simple." he said. "To ensure that the Earth Forces' top brass, do not have a change of heart at the last minute. The Cyclops System must be activated. At the moment, most ZAFT soldiers don't particularly hate Naturals. But after JOSH-A, that will change. For both sides."

"And of course, the 11th Fleet will be right in center of that." Rau added.

"You convinced Wu to have them assigned to the Operation?" Zane asked.

"Yes. That was a difficult thing to do. He didn't want them to get too much glory for the Operation's success. But I convinced him to have the Fleet assigned to the first wave, so they suffer the most casualties possible. Including the possibility of Commander Kessel dying." Rau replied. "He was particularly pleased with that possibility. It seems Kessel hasn't stopped battling Wu in the Council. And Wu hopes that the death of Kessel's remaining child will destroy the man."

"If it wasn't for the fact that the Operation was going to fail, he'd be pleased that the 11th Fleet is going to be wiped out." Zane said.

"But that still leaves the 7th Fleet. Can you take care of them, Zane?"

"Yes sir…"

* * *

_JOSH-A_

_A Half Hour Later_

"This concludes our hearing. Thank you all for your patience in answering our questions. We'll be in touch with you concerning the _Archangel_'s next assignment." Sutherland said, sitting up. "Expect for Commander La Flaga, Lieutenant Badgiruel and Crewman Allster. All other crew members will continue to stay on standby aboard the _Archangel_."

Mu asked the question that was on everyone's minds. "Sir. What about us?"

"Orders are to have you three transferred." Sutherland replied. "Report to the Personal Office at 0800 sharp."

"Sir. Why is Crewman Allster being transferred?" Natarle asked.

"You heard her words when she joined the military." Sutherland said. "Seeing how she's a member of the Allster family, I'm sure those words will touch the hearts of many people, as well as her motives for joining the military. Her contributions don't necessarily have to be on the frontline."

* * *

_Carpentaria_

Athrun placed Nicol's music sheets into his suitcase and then closed it. He walked out of the room, heading for his waiting craft. He stepped into the hallway. Yzak was waiting there for him.

Athrun smiled and nodded at his friend. "Don't worry. My turn will come." Yzak said. "Though how could they pick someone like you for the Special Forces?"

Athrun set down his suitcase and extended his uninjured hand. "Sorry about how things turn out. Thanks for your help."

The two shook hands. "Goodbye." Athrun said before heading down the hall.

"Next time, I'll be the one in charge. Don't get killed until then, okay?" Yzak said as he left.

Athrun turned his head back. "You got it Yzak."

* * *

_The Archangel_

Chris walked into the mess hall. Flay was there, eating her dinner. She looked up and smiled. "Hi. How was it?"

"Awful. The guy running the show was jackass. Kept blaming us for what happened. Especially, Nisha, Kira, and me."

"That's terrible. The three of you did everything you could to protect everyone. And that includes Heero as well." she said.

Chris sighed. "They don't care. All they see is that we're Coordinators and nothing else." he said. "There's something I need to tell you in private."

A few minutes later, they entered his quarters. "What is it?" Flay asked.

"You're being reassigned." Chris replied as he sat down on his bed.

"What? Why?"

"Sounds like they want to use you and what happened to you for propaganda." Chris said. "You're supposed to report to the Personal Office at eight tomorrow morning."

"That soon?"

"Yeah." he said with a sigh. "Tolle's dead, Kira's missing and now you're being reassigned. I honestly don't know what's going to happen next."

Suddenly, Flay's lips met his own. He returned the kiss, falling backwards onto the bed, Flay landing on top of him.

* * *

_Air Force One_

The U.S. presidential plane flew overhead, circling the city of Juneau, the capital of Alaska. Inside, the president looked out the windows of her cabin, catching site of JOSH-A below in the distance.

"So, that is JOSH-A…" She murmured as her eyes rested on it. The military complex seemed to be eerily silent, which set off warnings in her mind. If a base was silent, then something big was going to happen, or the base was going to be destroyed. The first one was unlikely, but that disturbed her even more. If the base _was_ going to be destroyed, then wouldn't the base commander have let her know about it? It was law that a base commander evacuated everyone if such a thing was going to happen, and yet there was no sign of anyone getting ready to leave or anything.

This only served to heighten her concern about the base's fate. From what she knew, the _Archangel_ was at the base. But if they were at the base, then things would not be so silent, which was what made her worry about those stationed there.

Thinking back, President Hilson recalled that the base engineers had requested a lot of parts, which they had said were being used in construction underneath the base. And some of those parts had been explosives, no less.

Then, it clinched for her. If some of those parts had been explosives, then the base _was_ going to be destroyed! The fact that the base commander had not let her know about this made her realize that he was either killed or forced to leave, but the former seemed more likely than the latter. And that made her concerned as only Blue Cosmos members would be able to get away with the killing of a base commander of such a high rank. If Blue Cosmos _was_ behind the desire to wipe out the base, then she had a real problem on her hands, and it was not just the radical faction of ZAFT either…

Standing up, she left her cabin and headed into the cockpit area. Opening the door, the two pilots looked at her with astonishment on their faces. "Madam President! What are you doing here?!" the first pilot asked.

"We need to get to JOSH-A, as soon as possible. When's the soonest we can land?" she asked.

The second pilot looked at the gauges before speaking to his superior. "According to the tower, not for a few more hours. There are other planes that have priority over us, and even we have to obey the laws." She replied.

President Hilson let out a small growl, but did not call the two out on it. They were just doing their jobs she knew, so she did not say anything about it. "I see. Then let me know as soon as we get clearance to land. I need to get to that base as soon as possible."

"Yes, ma'am!" the two replied before she left.

Leaving the cockpit, the president slammed her fist into the cabin wall of the plane. "Damn them…" she growled as she looked out the window that was right there. Clouds drifted by, looking like puffy marshmallows in the sky.

Beneath the plane, the lights of Juneau and JOSH-A lit up the air, stars trapped on Earth and bound to the land below. Cars sped by, their headlights illuminating the roadways beneath the massive jet. President Hilson just wanted to land so she could get to JOSH-A and warn the soldiers stationed there.

But here she was, trapped in the air above the base, unable to land until given clearance. It frustrated her to no end, but there was very little she could do about it. All that she _could_ do was wait until Air Force One was given clearance to land, and that would take hours in itself no less…

* * *

_JOSH-A_

Heero crept around that night, exploring the base to find out what was going on and what made him feel uneasy. Having stolen a mechanic's uniform, he was able to explore the base and get into areas otherwise off-limits. Recalling the layout that he had seen on the map in the pocket of the uniform, he made his way towards a sealed-off area.

Using a small lock-pick, Heero was able to open the door. He made his way inside and poked around before he came across a large open area, which held one thing he recognized all too clearly. _'This is a reactor! But what is it doing beneath the base?'_

Creeping over to a small terminal, the Gundam pilot was able to hack into it, only to feel his blood turn to ice, which is not an easy thing to do to a Gundam pilot, mainly Heero.

"This is…" He had no words to describe it, only the feeling of hatred that now sat in his chest at the mere sight of the records he was now reading. How anyone could do such a thing was beyond him, but it also reminded him of the wars back in his own universe. "These people are just like OZ and the Romefeller Foundation…" he mused in a low growl.

Not wanting to get caught, Heero turned off the terminal and left the room, taking care to cover his tracks before he left completely.

Returning to the _Archangel_, he could only fall into a dreamless state, his mission far from over…

* * *

Chapter complete. Heero gets involved during the hearing at JOSH-A and finds the secret in the base that the EA wants to hide. President Hilson heads to JOSH-A to try and stop the Blue Cosmos heads there, but gets delayed big time.

Anyway, constructive criticism is appreciated, as are reviews. Flames, AKA, hate-filled/spamming reviews, **_will_** be reported and/or deleted depending on if they are signed or not. Please read and review! ^^


	21. Phase 20: Seen and Unseen

Phase Twenty: Seen and Unseen

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**Titanic X: Thanks.**

**Ken Wise: You will see as the fic goes on. :3**

**CT7567Rules: Ok, I would like you to make it so your reviews are not one jumbled paragraph next time please. But I will answer to the best of my abilities. :) First, yes, I am glad Heero did too. Second, Saya is related, but I am not sure now. Sorry. :( Third, no, Chris will not do that since I have a different scene planned out. Fourth, yes, Zala is still head of the defense committee and as for the fleets defecting, they will as the story goes on. :) And yes... Meteor will be used. XD**

**gagasgumilang208: I have no clue. Sorry. :( But yes, Mu will use the Perfect Strike in this revamp. XD**

**A0930: Glad you like it! :D Yes, Aki's character development seems to be coming along well. :) As for the rest, it will be more of a surprise if I don't reveal anything else. XD**

**LazinessRules: Here it is. :)**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, the feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

**Anyway, please read and review!**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

_Clyne Residence_

_Aprilius City_

"We've got a problem!" the infamous Mr. Pink announced excitedly, bouncing around in the backyard of the Clyne residence.

"Mr. Pink! Don't go there!" Lacus called out as the pink Haro entered the glass sunroom.

The Haro landed on the bed situated in the sunroom. Lacus followed after it and grabbed it from the bed before it could wake the boy up. However, the moment Haro landed beside him, there was a groan and the boy's eyes opened. Lacus noticed this and cheerfully said, "Oh. Good morning, Sleepy Head."

The brown haired boy, disoriented, blinked a few times before his eyes finally focused in the harsh lights of what he assumed to be the sun. "Where...Where am I..."

"There will be time for that later," she instantly replied.

His violet eyes locked with the pink haired girl beside him. "You're Miss Lacus..."

"Oh my. Just plain Lacus is fine, Kira. Okay?" the songstress said smiling. "I'm so pleased to hear that you remembered my name."

Haro hopped off of Lacus' hands and back onto the bed next to Kira. "No problem! No problem!" it chirped happily.

"So, has our sleeper awoken?" A raven haired man asked as he entered the sunroom from the garden.

Lacus glanced at the blind man who entered before responding. "Yes, Reverend Malchio."

"You must be surprised waking up here." Malchio said. "Miss Lacus was insistent that we bring your bed out here."

"Perhaps because it feels better to be outside than inside, don't you think?"

Kira glanced around at his surroundings noting how unfamiliar it is. "How did I get here?"

"I found you lying unconscious in my garden," Malchio answered. "You were injured and were in need of assistance. So I brought you here."

Suddenly, as if a dense fog in his mind had instantly cleared away, memories of what happened came flooding back to him: His vicious battle with Athrun, Athrun killing Tolle, the Aegis grabbing onto the Strike and self-destructing. The memories kept pouring back like being hit by a ton of bricks. Kira's breathing became labored as he started to sweat.

"What's wrong Kira?" a concerned Lacus asked as soon as she noticed this.

Despite all the horrible images, there was something Kira didn't understand. "But...Why...Why am I..."

"Because you possess the SEED." Malchio said. "That is why."

Kira shot up, clutching the blanket, gasping for air. "Kira!" Lacus said as she leaned over him, trying to see what was wrong.

"There's a problem!" Haro chirped.

Tears poured down Kira's face. He was in pain, physically, mentally and emotionally. Lacus reached out and held one of his hands to comfort him. "I...fought Athrun..." he said. "I...I couldn't have survived..."

"Kira..." Lacus said, trying to comfort the boy.

* * *

_Aboard the _Odin

"As you all know, we've been ordered to participate in Operation Spitbreak," Commander Diana Kessel announced to the gathered officers and pilots of the 11th Fleet. "Specifically, we've been ordered to be a part of the first attack group dropped from space, by _Chairman_ Wu personally."

"Hmph. So Wu's putting us in the most dangerous part of the Operation," Basque Gideon said, punching his palm. "They won't stand a chance against us."

"That's true," Lisa DeCosta agreed. "But don't forget, we'll be fighting on Earth. Something we've never done before. If the 7th is involved however, then that could change."

"Gah...I hate Earth's gravity," Herbert Von Reinhardt complained.

"Oh shut up," Hilda retorted, punching her teammate in the shoulder.

"Enough," Diana said, silencing the group. "We won't be participating in the Operation, nor will the 7th."

Most of her gathered subordinates all stared at her as if she had grown a second head. They had never backed down from an assignment. "But why?" Lisa asked.

"Ajay has approached me with his increasing feelings of dread over this Operation. Also, the 7th has recently lost their commander and will need time to recover from the loss."

Those that had wondered why they weren't going had their questions all answered by that statement alone. Something bad was going to happen. Ajay's sixth sense about these things was never once wrong. If it wasn't for his feelings of dread at Endymion Crater, none of them would have escaped in time before the Cyclops System was activated. And to hear of the loss of Commander White was even more surprising, considering his reputation.

"We will report that we are having mechanical problems and will be unable to arrive in time for the battle," Diana stated. "And this will give us time to get in touch with the Junk Guild."

"You think they got a message from the Commander for us?" Ajay asked.

"Possibly. It's been awhile since we've received a message from him. Either way, the next couple of days will certainly be interesting."

* * *

_7th Fleet_

Commander Wolfe looked over the data that had been sent from the 'homeland', as the PLANTs were now being called. The new name made her skin crawl, as did the data.

"So, Wu wants us in that wave as well." She mused as she read over the report. "Well, he's not getting us."

She tossed the reports away, looking back at Tao, who was still upset over her father's loss. The new commander had not spoken much, nor given out many orders. The fact that they had tried to attack New Juneau had only been because she was grieving and was unable to process things clearly.

The rest of the crew was still upset as well, and an attack on Earth would have made things worse. They needed time to recover, not to go into battle so soon.

And Commander Wolfe knew it.

* * *

_Aprilius City_

_An Hour Later_

Kira sat in his bed, thinking about everything that had happened. He wondered about everyone else on the aboard _Archangel_. He knew Tolle was gone, but did everyone else make it out alive? Had they made it to Alaska? Or...well, he didn't want to think about that.

"It was inevitable, I guess," Kira spoke out as Lacus placed a cup of tea on the small table next to the bed. "Because he thought I killed his friend, he killed my friend. And that's why..."

"So you tried to kill Athrun with all your might and he tried to do the same to you," Lacus finished. "None of that could be help, now could it?"

Kira glanced at her. "Because that's war," she continued. "And you were both fighting against the enemy. Am I mistaken?"

No, she wasn't. And as much as Kira hated to admit it, he and Athrun had gone from best friends to mortal enemies all because of this stupid and meaningless war.

* * *

_The _Archangel

_The Next Day_

Flay opened her eyes. Siting on the side of the bed was Chris who putting a shirt on. She sat up pulling the blanket up to cover her naked body. "Good morning," she finally said. "What time is it?"

"Quarter to seven," he replied as he put the jacket of his uniform on.

"I have just over an hour then," she said lowly before moving to grab her scattered clothes.

"Yeah..." Chris said. "Before you go, there's something I want to give you."

"What?"

Chris reached underneath his collar and pulled out his grandfather's dog tags. "Here," he said handing them to her. "These belonged to my grandfather. He claimed that they protected him. I thought it was foolish before, but I've had bizarre luck ever since I first stepped into the Raven. And I want you to have it so that bizarre luck can protect you since I won't be able to anymore once you leave the ship."

She grabbed his keepsake, smiling just a little. "Thank you." Flay said putting the tags around her neck. "But I believe you should have one as well." She added as she took one of the tags off the strap that held them.

"Why?"

"This way we will never be truly apart. You will have a piece of me, just as I will have a piece of you." Flay replied as she put the remaining tag around her neck once again.

"Thanks." Chris replied with a smile.

* * *

_ZAFT Fleet_

_In Earth Orbit_

The ZAFT fleet was abuzz with activity. GINN Long Range Reconnaissance Types patrolled the area around the fleet watching for any possible threats. GINNs and CGUEs left their _Nazca_ class and _Laurasia_ class warships to board the drop pods tethered to the large dropships awaiting for their orders to launch into the Earth's atmosphere.

"Where the hell is Kessel and the 11th Fleet?" an annoyed Admiral Darlian yelled. "They're supposed to be in the first wave! It's the same with the 7th!"

"Message coming through, sir. It's from the 11th Fleet. Reads: Unable to arrive in time for the start of the Operation due to mechanical problems. Will join up with assault group when able to. Message from the 7th as well. Reads: Unable to join due to loss of commanding officer. Will join up with assault group once new commanding officer chosen."

Darlian slammed his fist into the armrest of his chair. "Hmph! It serves them right!" Darlian said in contempt of the 11th Fleet and its counterpart. "They always think that they're the best and that normal military hardware isn't good enough for them. They waste their time installing black market parts into perfectly good mobile suits and warships. But we'll show them. This Operation will succeed without their help."

* * *

_Jachin Due Control Center_

_'It's time, time to cut off the beast's head.'_

Hong Fa Wu stood up from his chair on the upper balcony of the control center. "As we embark on this operation, it is my strongest wish that bring the war to swift conclusion!" he said, his voice being transmitted to the ZAFT forces participating in the Operation. "Inspiring the hope in us all that this will lead to true freedom and justice, let Operation Spitbreak now commence!"

The officers a floor below him scrambled to relay the orders to the ZAFT forces on standby.

"Message from Central Command. The target for Operation Spitbreak is...JOSH-A, Alaska."

Momentary confusion flooded the ZAFT forces. Just about everyone thought they were going to attack Panama and take the last Mass Driver from the Earth Forces. Not attack their central headquarters. But this confusion quickly subsided and everyone resumed their duties.

* * *

_Aboard the _Cousteau

"JOSH-A?" Saya said sticking her head out of her DINN. "I thought we were attacking Panama."

"It appears that Panama was a feint to draw the Earth Forces away from JOSH-A," Zane said from the cockpit of his GINN. "A clever ploy."

"Yeah. I knew Chairman Wu was put in charge for a reason," Yzak said from the Duel.

* * *

_The _Odin

"JOSH-A?"

"Yes, Commander," Captain Lee said. "They just announced it. Spitbreak's true target wasn't Panama, but Alaska."

"It's a clever gamble," Diana said. "Draw the enemy's strength to where you're most likely to attack and then attack where they least expect it."

"Do you think it will work?"

"No," Diana said. "Ajay felt that something was wrong with the Operation and hence, there's no doubt in my mind that it will fail. The real question is, how badly will it fail?"

Kira, Lacus and Reverend Malchio sat in sunroom drinking tea as the rain poured down outside. Kira had asked if there was any way to get back to Earth. Which Lacus's father was checking on for him.

"It's impossible. Even if you use the Reverend's shuttle," Siegel Clyne said as he approached the group, "Flights to Earth just aren't being allowed."

_BEEP BEEP_

"There's a call coming in from Ms. Eileen Canaver and Mr. Ian Kessel," a voice said over the intercom.

The faces of a man and woman appeared on the screens within the glass. _"Siegel, Wu has deceived us all,"_ Kessel said. _"Spitbreak's target wasn't Panama. It's JOSH-A."_

"What?"

At that instant, Kira's eyes widened in shock as his cup fell from his hand and shattered. The _Archangel _was at JOSH-A. All of his friends were in danger.

"Kira!" Lacus said as she reached out to him.

_"He's trying to take out the Alliance Command in one fell swoop,"_ Ian informed.

_"The Council is in an uproar. We've never approved anything like this,"_ Eileen added. _"He's overstepped his authority."_

"What do you expect from a man like Wu? I told you all that a man like him shouldn't be in charge."

Kira didn't need to pay attention to the rest of the message. His friends were at Alaska and he needed to get back there before it was too late.

* * *

_Submarine Pen_

_JOSH-A_

"Just line up here. You'll have to show them your papers when you board," Mu said handing Flay her papers. "Got it?"

"Yes," Flay said.

"Good," Mu said walking away from the group.

"Wait. Where are you going?" she asked. She didn't want to get separated from familiar people.

"I forgot something." Mu casually replied as left.

The drop pods tethered to the dropships were deployed falling through the atmosphere towards JOSH-A. While ZnOs and GOOhNs were launched from underwater sub carriers and heading for the base. Early warning alarms went off in the abandoned control room of the JOSH-A base. A moment later, the alarms went off throughout the base, alerting the garrison there as well as the _Archangel_. The manned and automated defenses of JOSH-A had activated, preparing for the incoming attackers.

The battle of JOSH-A had begun.

* * *

_The _Archangel

Murrue and the bridge crew were all stunned when they heard the alarms go off. Suddenly, Captain Sutherland appeared on the main screen.

"Captain Sutherland! What's going on?" Murrue asked.

_"They tricked us!"_ a stunned Sutherland replied. _"At the last minute, they switched their target to JOSH-A. All Defense Forces are to launch immediately. Commence interception."_

"Damn." John said as he, Chris, Heero, Liz, and Nisha rushed into the hanger. "Who would have thought they would be taking the gamble to attack JOSH-A?"

"This seems to happen just about every time we get a break," Nisha said as put his helmet on. "This ship must be cursed or something."

"Well, it's not the most conspicuous of ships," John replied, heading for his mobile suit. "And I think its reputation has made it a major target for ZAFT. Anyone wanting to make a name for themselves will be gunning for us out there. So be careful."

Nisha headed for the Z.A.M. Gundam while Chris and his sister headed towards the Buster and the Surge. Heero ran towards his own machine, and hopped inside as well.

"Hey! What's the status on the Buster and the Surge?" Liz called out.

"We've got them both up and running!" Murdoch called back.

"Then get the Buster ready for launch! I'm using it!"

"You heard her, guys! Get the Buster ready for launch!" Murdoch called out the crews.

"And I'll use the Surge, given that the Raven is damaged beyond repair." Chris replied as the Surge was loaded onto one of the catapults.

_"The Farsight has been a good companion. I won't abandon him for another mobile suit," _John replied.

"You know, I actually felt the same way about the Raven. I didn't think I could ever use another mobile suit. But given the circumstances, it looks like that may be happening soon."

The first catapult opened up. "Chris Dante. Surge Gundam, launching!"

The catapult activated propelling the Surge forward. Once it cleared the catapult, the Surge transformed into a Mobile Armor. The Buster was loaded onto the second catapult. "Liz Dante. Buster Gundam, launching!"

The Buster was launched from the _Archangel_. _"Finally! I get to pilot one of these machines!"_ Liz said with a grin as she cleared the ship.

"This isn't a game." Chris said.

_"I know. But I've wanted to pilot a mobile suit for long time now."_

Chris shook his head. "Just get on."

_"Right,"_ Liz said as she landed on the Surge.

The Farsight launched and landed on the _Archangel_'s hull. "This is going to be a tough one," John said.

"Stick close to the _Archangel_. And pray that we can hold out long enough for reinforcements to arrive."

The Z.A.M. Gundam landed on the ship as well while Wing Zero took to the air and landed right on the battle zone.

* * *

_Aboard the _Cousteau

Rau Le Creuset glanced at his watch. It was almost time for them to launch. So far, the Operation had gone off without a hitch. Save one. The 11th Fleet and 7th Fleet had been delayed and wouldn't be arriving in time. Technically, it wasn't a danger to what was going to happen, but the Cyclops System could have removed a potential threat to his plans saving the trouble of dealing with them himself. "No matter. I'll have to deal them later," Rau said to himself.

"Zane, Yzak," he said over the radio.

_"Sir!"_ the teens said.

"I'll be scouting out their inner defenses. I trust that you'll both be able to proceed as planned."

_"Yes sir,"_ the two replied.

"Good. It's time to launch."

The three vertical catapults opened. Rau's silver DINN launched followed by the Duel and the red GINN and their Guuls. DINNs and GINNs were soon launched afterwards.

"The curtain has risen," Rau said to himself. "And now it's time for the actors to show their talent."

* * *

_New Juneau_

Akira could not help but stare at the small screen before him. On the planet, there was a battle going on at JOSH-A. He could only stare as ZAFT began an attack that was considered very brutal by NASA standards: People being killed, ZAFT officers shooting them while they were exposed to attack, etc. It was horrible, but not as horrible as what was to come in the next few days.

He averted his gaze from the screen, not wanting to see any more of the conflict. The ZAFT pilot could hardly believe that ZAFT actually had the guts to attempt something like that.

"ZAFT is attacking JOSH-A I see." A voice said. Aki' turned his head, only to see the guard who was charged with watching over him. "That is a very bad mistake, considering that JOSH-A is the headquarters of the entire Earth Alliance armed forces."

"But, isn't the base a NASA base?" Aki' asked.

The guard glanced at Akira with a small smile on his face. "While that may be true, the Earth Forces are the ones who actually own the base, at least, they use it."

Aki' just looked down at his hands. "Then, why is ZAFT attacking it if they know it is a NASA base? Won't ZAFT get beaten back?"

"No. The Earth Forces demanded that NASA have none of their soldiers stationed there, and considering that NASA allows Coordinators into their own armed forces, it was a viable request, especially given that the EA hates Coordinators." The guard replied.

"…"

Akira was silent for a few minutes before he spoke up again. "So, that means that NASA can't defend the base under any circumstances, even though it is their base."

"Exactly. With no Mobile Suits there to reinforce the line, the EA will have to either retreat or call on NASA to help defend the base, but considering that the EA forced them from their own base, they might not be so inclined to help out."

That got Aki'. He looked at the guard with a surprised look. "Then why would they let the EA use their base?"

"To maintain good relations with the Earth Forces." The guard replied simply. "Given how they support both groups, this makes their situation especially difficult. If they support only one side, the other would be a devastating force to even them. So it is for survival that they support both sides in the war."

The Coordinator looked down again, unable to believe what he was hearing. "I heard that NASA only supported the Earth Forces and that they are ruled by royalty that takes ZAFT pilots as slaves."

A laugh from the guard caught his attention. "You actually believe that lie that the radical faction made up? You just got duped!"

"What do you mean?!"

"NASA is not ruled by royalty, and if they actually _did_ enslave Coordinators, then why would the EA ask them to leave their own base?"

Now that Aki' thought about it, that wouldn't make sense if the alliance _was_ ruled by royalty. "So, if NASA is not ruled by royalty that enslaves Coordinators, then what is it really like? Is it how I remember it?"

"And how _do_ you remember it?" the guard asked.

"I…remember…an elected official…called the president…that ran the United States…in which the whole Congress was elected by the people as well…the Constitution that protects all rights for _everyone_, not just Naturals…" Aki' murmured as he closed his eyes.

"Then there you go. The governments of all the nations in the alliance are still as you remember, Akira." The guard replied.

Akira just put his head in his hands. "Then, why would Wu just make up a lie like that? And why would he try to attack a _PLANT colony_?"

The guard just sighed. "Even we don't know. That is what is so disturbing to us."

Aki' looked at him, cocking an eyebrow. "'We'? Just what do you mean?"

"I mean NAZAFT, or the No-Attack Zone on America Firma Terra. That is the full name, or as ZAFT calls it, the North American Zodiac Alliance for Freedom Treaty. We are the American armed forces space unit." The guard explained. "NAZAFT is made up of only Coordinators, just like ZAFT, but there are also Naturals in the unit as well, but they handle more the repair jobs while the Coordinators handle the mobile suit conflicts."

Akira could hardly believe what he was hearing, and he blinked in astonishment. "NAZAFT?"

"Yes. We are like ZAFT, but at the same time, we are far different from ZAFT. While ZAFT is a militia, NAZAFT follows the American armed forces structure, which includes the ranks. While ZAFT ranks officers based on coat color, here, we use actual ranks." The guard explained. "Someone who wears a white coat may be a lieutenant while someone who wears a blue coat may be a private or ensign. The rank is what matters in NAZAFT, not the uniform color."

Akira could only gape at the explanations. He had not expected NAZAFT to be so different from what he was told in the ZAFT academy. They were not an army unit that had only one rank for each uniform color. And it was made up of _both_ Coordinators and Naturals to boot! He could only shake his head in amazement.

"It's just unbelievable what Wu told everyone one in the PLANTs, mainly the ZAFT members." He chuckled. "For a Coordinator, he is such an idiot."

The guard could not help but chuckle as well. "That he may be. That he may be…"

* * *

_Juneau, Alaska_

Air Force One landed with no problems the day prior, and now the president was en route to the base of JOSH-A. She looked out the window of the presidential limo, only to stop short when she saw the explosions. _'A battle? At JOSH-A?'_

Glancing in that direction, President Hilson could now see smoke rising from the base's direction. "No…they can't have!" she exclaimed as she put her hands on the glass that protected her from the outside.

Facing the driver, she knew that her request would most likely be denied, but she still had to try.

"Take me to JOSH-A now! There is a battle there and I want to make sure that the soldiers there get out alive!" she ordered, but just like she had guessed, the driver merely shook his head no.

"I'm sorry, but I am under orders to keep you safe at all times, and that means heading away from the base. We cannot risk you getting injured or killed." He replied.

Flopping back onto her seat, the president folded her arms in a huff, but did not say anything more.

Deep down, she knew that it was for her own safety, but she still wanted to be involved as a person, not just as the President of the United States. It was frustrating, but there was little that she could do about it. Sighing, President Hilson looked back at the thick smoke rising from the base. _'Please…get out alive…'_

* * *

_7th Fleet, _Constitution

Tao was observing the battle that was now getting underway. "The target was JOSH-A?!" she exclaimed as she stood up. Her head was still bandaged from the attack that had claimed her father's life, but she was still capable of leading the fleet from the ships.

"It would appear so." Aisha replied as she looked back at her commanding officer. "ZAFT Command fooled everyone, even the Earth Alliance."

A growl escaped the white-coat's throat. "Damn that Wu! He wants to take out all the Alliance leaders so he can get away with his plans!" Tao snarled as she slammed a fist against the chair arm.

"Tao's father getting killed was our saving factor." Heidi replied, a smirk on her face. Tao glared at her with her good eye before she ran over and punched her on the face. "DON'T speak about my father that way, EVER!" she snapped back.

Deep down though, she knew that Heidi was right. If her father _hadn't_ been killed, they would be down there fighting as well. Not to mention they were two pilots short, so their strength would be compromised.

'_Father…what should I do…?'_

Looking back at the screen, Tao could see many people, all Naturals running for cover from the ZAFT machines. Many of the Naturals were unarmed and ZAFT was attacking them anyway. To her, the attack seemed to be brutal, but it was not as bad as it could be. Still, it was a sign that ZAFT was turning into a force that she wanted to have no part in.

"When should we leave…" she murmured so softly, no one else could hear it.

Her answer was not going to come any time soon, she knew, but she at least had to try to find it, because her father would have wanted her to…

* * *

_Submarine Pen_

Flay was waiting in line to board the sub when the alarms went off. They were under attack! Flay knew the sensible thing to do was to wait and board the sub. There wasn't anything else she could do. But…She was worried about Chris and everyone else on the _Archangel_.

So she did the only thing that made sense to her. She ran out of the sub pen and headed to where she had last seen _Archangel_.

* * *

_Aprilius City_

Lacus lead Kira through the corridors of a ZAFT installation. Kira wasn't exactly sure why they were here, but he figured that they were going to find a means to get him back down to Earth in time to save his friends on the _Archangel_. They approached a large pair of doors. In front of the doors was a pair of ZAFT technicians and that man in the purple ZAFT uniform that had called Siegel Clyne, Ian Kessel, if he remembered correctly.

"Hello, Mr. Kessel," Lacus said with a smile.

"Hello, Miss Clyne. And you were the pilot of the Strike, correct?" Mr. Kessel said.

"Yes."

"Before we go in, could you tell me what happened to the Surge and its pilot?"

"No. I'm sorry, I can't," Kira replied.

"I see." For the briefest of instances, the man seemed older and worn out like how he had acted before then had mostly been a mask.

But that moment passed and the man's appearance returned to what it was before. "Well then, let us give you your new sword."

The doors opened and Lacus entered the dark hanger with Kira close behind. It was pitch black inside. All Kira could see was Lacus and part of the catwalk they were floating over. Suddenly, the lights in the hanger came on. Standing before the teens was a...

"A Gundam!" Kira said as he stared at the mobile suit in awe.

"Actually, that's not what it's called. This is the ZGMF-X10A Freedom," Lacus stated. "But you know, Gundam is better because it sounds more powerful."

"Under orders from Chairman Wu, they designed a new mobile suit using the technology of the captured Earth Forces machines and then added state of the art technology," Lacus continued.

"But why are you giving me this?" Kira asked.

"I feel that this machine is going to have the power that you're going to need," she replied. "Neither will alone, nor strength alone, will be enough. That is why. Will this take to where you want to go? Will it help you when you get there?"

"Neither will alone, nor strength alone." Kira said, echoing her words.

He turned to her. "Who are you, really?"

"I am simply Lacus Clyne," the pink haired songstress told him, "and you are Kira Yamato."

"I'm grateful for your help." Kira said with a smile.

Kessel entered the hanger. "We've knocked out the cameras," he informed them as he approached the two, a red ZAFT flight suit and helmet in his hands.

"So what do you think of the Freedom?" he asked.

"I honestly don't know what to think." Kira answered.

"You must make sure that this machine doesn't get into the hands of the wrong people."

"Huh?"

It's equipped with a nuclear reactor and an N-Jammer Canceler. I don't think I need to tell you what could happen if it fell into the wrong hands," the man said.

"I understand. But why do you trust this with me?"

"For most of us, it's because you have the trust of Miss Clyne. For myself and others, this is an act of defiance against Hong Fa Wu and those that follow him. We wish for the war to end peacefully. Not with one side wiping the other out, which is where Hong Fa Wu's beliefs will lead ZAFT if nothing is done," Ian said. "You'll be going back to Earth and the war, while we will remain here and fight to bring peace in our own way."

"How?"

"Because of Miss Clyne's popularity, she's one of the most influential people in the PLANTs. And my family has strong ties with many leaders in the military," Ian said. "We'll be fine. Here, you better get suited up."

He handed Kira the flightsuit as Lacus turned away. A few minutes later, he was wearing the flightsuit and heading for the cockpit. "Are you sure about this?" Kira asked.

"Yes. I too will be singing the great song of peace," Lacus said, floating next to him.

"Be careful."

"I will. You take care too, Kira" Lacus said.

"My strength goes with you," she added kissing him on the cheek causing both of them to slightly blush.

"And now you should be on your way," Lacus said pushing off the Freedom and headed for the catwalk.

Kira climbed into the cockpit as Lacus and Ian left the hanger.

"Neither will alone nor strength alone," Kira said to himself as he powered up the Freedom.

The Freedom took off flying out of the hanger alerting ZAFT security in the process. The officers in the Dock Control Room frantically tried to stop the Freedom from escaping, but it was too late. Kira had already cleared the hanger and PLANT itself. But they weren't the only ones to try to stop Kira. A pair of GINNs on patrol moved into Kira's path and fired at him. Kira effortlessly dodged their fire and, in a blur of speed, sliced off the GINNs' heads with the Freedom's beam sabers. With the threat neutralized, Kira sped off towards Earth passing a shuttle heading for the PLANTs.

* * *

Athrun sat quietly in his seat on board the shuttle. There was barely anyone on the shuttle and those that were on board were mostly soldiers that had been too badly hurt to continue fighting in the war like the man a few rows ahead of him. The brown haired man had lost his left eye and his left arm and was forced to walk with a cane. Clearly, his days of fighting were over. He glanced out his window just in time to see a mobile suit he had never seen before fly passed the shuttle with tremendous speed heading for Earth. It looked similar to the machines built on Heliopolis, but unlike any of those mobile suits.

Neither Kira nor Athrun realized they had just encountered each other again.

* * *

_Aprilius One_

Patrick Zala looked out as the mobile suit fled the PLANT. Deep down, he knew that he would be in trouble for what he had allowed to happen by Hong Fa Wu, but considering that he was defense chairman, he would be able to get away with it.

He just hoped that his own son would be able to see through the lies that he had told him over the past year. If he wasn't, then it was all over for him, and for his son…

* * *

_Beneath JOSH-A_

NASA Armed Forces officers ran around, trying to seal up the doors to the hangers where the machines were held. The massive hydraulics whined as the huge slabs of metal clanged shut with a loud _WHAM_. Huge locks slammed into place, with only the President being capable of unlocking them.

It was the only way to keep their work a secret until the right time came. The Earth Alliance officials in charge of the base were unaware of the hangers under the base, but several had come looking in the past, making it much more imperative that they hide their newly completed weapons.

"Make sure that those doors are sealed tight! We can't have the Earth Forces come down here looking for nukes only to find our hard work and steal it!" a man shouted as others ran past him.

Several mechanics checked the massive slabs of metal, giving the thumbs-up. They were sealed. Good.

The man looked back, only to see the outline of the third machine being covered with a tarp on top of a flatbed truck. "We need to move the third out of here and to Air Force One so it can be transported back to Washington where repairs can continue."

A woman nodded before she ran over and gave out the order. The massive machine was covered completely before the tarp was strapped down.

Men and women, Natural and Coordinator, worked to seal the entrances that were to no longer be used unless the circumstances allowed it…

* * *

_NASA Missile Silos_

Engineers ran about, missile parts littering the floor of the silo. An old missile was torn open, the nuclear warhead exposed to the outside. Wires led from the warhead to a computer that was opened and online.

"Damn it! The N-Jammers _still_ cancel out the fission process!" the head engineer snarled, slamming his hands down on the table before him. Sighing, he slumped down in his chair, head in hands. "No matter what we try to do, it seems that the N-Jammers can't be overcome!"

Another scientist looked over. "Well, we can't stop. You know what the Earth Alliance is dying to do to the PLANTs, and as soon as they get the chance, they will try and nuke the colonies again."

"I know that! It's just that, without the missiles, we can't even _defend_ the PLANTs from such an attack! By dropping those things on the Earth, the PLANTs not only caused the energy crisis, they also prevented _the only ones who can defend them from doing so!_ By disarming the Earth Alliance, they also disarmed _US!_" the engineer exclaimed. "That is why we need to overcome the N-Jammers!"

Another engineer looked up from the warhead that was still opened. "Well, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that we can outfit the missiles with the armor of our Traverses. The bad news; it will only buy us a few missiles."

"How many?" her superior asked.

"15 and then some." The engineer replied. "That's not enough if the EA tries to do it multiple times."

The head engineer looked down at the readouts before him. "So, it would appear that ZAFT did not want our help after all…"

-_Flashback_-

_The escort fleet approached Junius Seven unnoticed by the rest of the PLANTs. The men inside grinned. It was almost time for the attack._

"_Prepare to launch the missiles!" the captain declared, with glee present in his voice. "Time for those Space Monsters to pay for what they did to us!"_

_Everyone on the bridge cheered as they shouted that phrase that they all knew too well. "For the preservation of our blue and pure world!"_

_ZAFT ships and machines headed towards them, preparing to intercept the missile-armed Mobile Armors and ships. But it was not fast enough._

_The Mobile Armors spread out, targeting all of the PLANTs in Junius City. The three ships armed with missiles also targeted three PLANTs, but of December City instead. The missile hatches opened, but on the missile noses was the symbol that marked a nuclear missile._

"_Those are NUKES!" A ZAFT pilot shouted. "They are going to nuke Junius City!"_

_Reacting with alarm, the ZAFT machines and ships prepared to fire, but before they could, something else happened._

_On the ground below the PLANTs, data transmitted from New Juneau revealed the attempted attack. President Hilson looked over the data reports, her face showing a frown. "They are attacking Junius City?"_

_Her advisor for the Defense Department, Defense Secretary John Keller, looked at her. "Yes, they are. Blue Cosmos is armed with nuclear missiles, which, with the right accuracy, can decimate an entire colony…"_

_The president mulled over his words, considering the options that were placed before her. _'If we attack with NAZAFT forces, they will be too late in launching. The colony is too far from Junius City. However, if we use _them_, then there is a chance of success, as they were once used as a deterrent during the Cold War, and they can be deployed at a moment's notice. New Juneau can't defend the PLANTs in such a manner.'

"_Prepare to launch one."_

_The words stunned Keller. "WHAT?! You want to use one of _those_?!"_

_"Listen, we need to move to defend the PLANTs, and New Juneau is too far from Junius City! They would never make it in time! Those things are our only advantage over the Earth Forces! If we show that we are willing to use such things, then the Earth Forces would have to back off!"_ _President Hilson snarled back._

_Keller stood his ground, but then relented. "Very well."_

_In the desert, the orders were received. Underground, steam hissed as a missile rose from its silo where it had been stored for over three hundred years. Old hydraulics moved the holding system upwards as the rust-covered hatch retreated. Sunlight shone down into the old silo for the first time in three centuries. The titan of metal and machinery rose upwards, the sunlight reflecting off the metal skin, now covered in dust and rust patches. The controller stood at the ready as three hundred year-old computers targeted the location of the Blue Cosmos fleet._

_Sirens blared as the controllers reached over and proceeded to hit the buttons that were now exposed to the open air. In a roar of fire, the missile sped out of its silo, heading up towards space. The rust fell off as the dust flickered away. The tower of smoke that was getting bigger was the only sign a missile had been launched._

_Up in space, the Blue Cosmos fleet was commencing the final preparations to attack when the alarm blared. Five Mobile Armors were around the three ships armed with missiles, the Armors themselves armed with the same missiles. The radar controller looked at his screen, unable to register the readout coming in from behind and below. He looked to his superior officer, his mouth opening to speak. That was as far as he got before an intense flash was registered on ZAFT sensors. Heat radiated outwards as the three ships and five Mobile Armors were engulfed in an expanding orb of light._

_ZAFT officers could hardly believe what they had just seen. Three ships and five Mobile Armors had just…vanished in a flash of light! The readings were unnoticed though, which proved to be NASA's greatest saving move._

_Still, it did little to prevent the Junius Seven attack…_

_In the days that followed, NASA released a statement saying that New Juneau caught wind of an engine malfunction on one of the ships, which caused them and the Mobile Armors to be wiped out in an explosion._

_The PLANTs never knew what really happened…_

-_End Flashback_-

"It was because of these things that Junius City was spared a full wipe-out." The head engineer murmured as he placed a hand on the warhead. "And how to the PLANTs repay us? They repay us by dropping the N-Jammers, which render us _and_ them defenseless in terms of heavy firepower."

Everyone there knew what he meant. "That is why we are working on this project. Of course, I highly doubt we can overcome the N-Jammers unless there is a way to block them."

A scientist looked over the readings of the missile's warhead. "Well, there're no reactions in this one, even when we try to induce them on purpose, that's for sure."

The head engineer sighed. "Looks like we still have a big job ahead of us."

Everyone nodded. Still, they had to try; otherwise, the PLANTs had no effective defense against the Earth Alliance.

* * *

Chapter is complete. The battle for JOSH-A begins, and NASA tries to overcome the N-Jammers to defend the PLANTs. Flay leaves the sub pen to find the _Archangel_, and President Hilson makes her way to the base.

Anyway, constructive criticism is appreciated as are reviews. Flames, AKA hate-filled/spamming reviews, **_will _**be deleted and/or reported depending on if they are signed or not. Just a heads up.

Anyway, read and review! ^^


	22. Phase 21: Descending Sword

Phase Twenty-One: Descending Sword

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: You don't need to make them shorter. Just hit enter at the end of a sentence or paragraph. It will make it easier for me, and you can make reviews as long as you want when using that trick. :)**

**Titanic X: Glad you do. :)**

**gagasgumilang208: No, Chris will not get the Raven repaired. He gets a new machine and you will see which soon enough. :) And yes, Heero will face down the Extendeds as well. XD**

**Bcz: I update once a week, so expect it weekly. :)**

**Just a Crazy Man: Again, glad you do, but please don't just say 'Love'. I want to know **why** you like it. :)**

**GI SCOE: Troll issues forced me to remove it, but this is a revamp. The majority stays the same, but there **will** be some changes too. :)**

**A0930: First, it is part of the series and a core one at that, so I would not have removed it anyway. :) Second, yes, it is sweet, and that is part of the plot. :) Next, Lox will get her own MS, and Chris gets a new one too. ;3 Aki is changing for sure. :) And I am glad you want Marie to live. Don't worry, she does. :3 And Tao definitely did need to do that punch. XD And you will see soon with Patrick Zala~ ;3 As for the question, the Freedom and Justice actually **do** have NJCs. And no, it won't affect it. As for the Athrun Lacus confrontation, there **will** be a **slight** change, but nothing that will affect the overall plot in a bad way.**

**On another note, I would like to give a shout-out of thanks to operation meteor for letting me use one of the scenes from his epic story, Gundam Wing: Journey to a New Battlefield. The scene I could not resist using, and it seemed to fit with the plot I had planned out. So, go read his story. I HIGHLY recommend it. Link is found on my profile under favorite stories.**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, the feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

**Anyway, please read and review!**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

A grey DINN slipped passed the raging battle unnoticed. It flew along the edge of the battlefield skimming passed missile and anti-air batteries until it reached its target: a small, unassuming waterfall guarded by a pair of missile batteries. The missile batteries opened fire but the DINN evaded the barrage of missiles and flew passed the batteries, through the waterfall and into the tunnel the waterfall hid.

"It seems Azrael's information was correct," Rau said as his DINN dashed through the tunnel heading for the base interior.

* * *

ZAFT mobile suits filled the air as they headed for their objective: JOSH-A's Main Naval Gate. Unfortunately, when they reached the area, they were surprised by what they saw.

"Hey! Is that the legged ship, and Omega One?" a GINN pilot asked.

_"I think it is,"_ a DINN pilot responded. _"Ya think if we take them down they'll give us medals like Zala's kid?"_

_"Hell yeah!"_ a second DINN pilot shouted. _"A round of medals for everyone!"_

"Cut the chatter," the team leader ordered from the cockpit of his CGUE. "We have a-" However, before the pilot had a chance to finish whatever he had to say, a beam shot from above, tore through the CGUE, destroying it. The rest of the ZAFT team looked up. The Buster, riding atop the Surge, descended in on them firing its beam cannon and gun launcher as the Surge fired its shoulder machine guns and anti-air guns at them. The beams struck a GINN and the left wing of DINN while the solid rounds tore through a pair of other GINNs.

"Shit! Scatter!" a DINN pilot yelled out.

The ZAFT mobile suits spread out to avoid the incoming fire and returned fire themselves. The Surge swerved dodging most of their missiles and bullets. Those that were able to hit did little against the phase shift armor of the two Gundams. A GINN pilot swore through his clenched teeth. _"They're just as strong as the reports say they are, but they can only handle so much! Keep-"_

A single bullet struck the GINN and a second later and it exploded. "Sniper!" another pilot shouted.

* * *

John fired off more rounds. A round tore through a DINN's head. A GINN's Guul exploded. Another round tore through a GINN's torso. The fourth round hit the center of a GINN's back. John ejected the spent clip and loaded a new one. The Buster fired its cannons and missiles while the Surge's guns roared sending more mobile suits to the waters below. It was then that a GINN fired at the Surge, taking out one of the engines. Chris swore as his machine went down. Crashing into the ground, Liz hopped off of the damaged Surge, which was now in its mobile suit form.

"Damn it!" Chris cursed as he looked up from the damage readouts. "Right engine is down, and the left leg is damaged."

"_I'll cover you. Get back to the ship."_ Liz said as she fired with the Buster's beam rifle.

"Right."

As Chris made his way to the ship, which was not too far off, he heard Liz cry out as the Buster lost both its arms. "LIZ!" he cried as he glanced back.

The damaged Buster made its way over, making Chris sigh with relief. _"I can't fight anymore. We have to get to the _Archangel_."_ Liz said as Chris made his way to her.

"Yeah. Let's go."

* * *

From underwater, ZnOs and GOOhNs fired their torpedoes at the various naval vessels defending the base. Unlike the GINNs and the DINNs that were trying to deal with the Buster and the Surge, there was nothing to stop them from attacking the ships directly. The torpedoes hit their targets sinking several _Arkansas, Des Moines_ and _Fraser_ class ships. "Damn," John cursed saw one of the ships sink. "Murdoch, get that bazooka and my one remaining sword ready for me. I'm going under to deal with those underwater mobile suits."

_"Right."_

The Farsight returned to the hanger and a few minutes later it emerged armed with a bazooka and a sword stored on the back of its waist. The modified GINN leaped off the edge of the catapult and into the depths below.

"What the? A GINN High Maneuver Type?" a GOOhN pilot said at the sight of the Farsight. "Is it with the 11th Fleet?"

_"Pilot, identify yourself,"_ the ZnO commander ordered.

_"Victor Cain. Officer of the 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet. Serial number ZM-211787,"_ John instantly replied. _"My thrusters have failed and I need a hand at getting back to the surface."_

_"Alright then,"_ the commander responded, not noticing a rocket launcher being aimed at his suit.

_"Jenkins, help get him to the sur-"_

A rocket stuck the ZnO silencing the commander. Two more rockets destroyed a pair of GOOhNs before anyone could react. "Shit! Attack!" the GOOhN pilot shouted.

Two GOOhNs charged the Farsight intending to ram it but John was much faster. He fired the bazooka at one GOOhN, easily defeating it, as he reached for his sword with his other hand and stabbed the second GOOhN. A moment later, it exploded.

"Who's next?" John said as more GOOhNs and ZnOs approached.

* * *

Wing Zero and the Z.A.M. Gundam fired as ZAFT units attacked the _Archangel_. Missiles from the long-range machine hit several ZAFT GINNs, forcing them off their Guuls. Nisha gritted his teeth as he targeted another group of them.

"What is with these guys? They just keep on coming!" he snarled as he fired the beam cannons at a few DINNs. Their wings exploded as they fell to earth.

"_They are desperate, which can lead to death."_ Heero replied as he fired the Buster Rifle. The golden beam lanced through the air, knocking a few GINNs to the ground, two of which exploded while the third's pilot got away from his damaged machine unharmed.

* * *

Elsewhere, the battle for JOSH-A was going poorly for the Earth Forces. ZuOOTs and BuCUEs were overrunning the Earth Forces' tanks and gun batteries due in part to the air support provided by the GINNs and DINNs flying overhead. And with no help or reinforcements from NASA, they had no chance.

Saya fired off a burst of rounds from her rifle at a linear tank, destroying it. Nearby, Yzak destroyed a pair of tanks with the Duel's rifle. "These targets aren't any challenge at all," Yzak complained as he aimed at a gun emplacement.

_"I find myself agreeing with you,"_ Zane agreed as he fired at a gun battery. _"After fighting the legged ship for so long, fighting against such weak opponents feels dull and boring."_

_"But Sirs, we're fighting in an important operation that could end the war,"_ Saya said. _"How can you consider this dull and boring?"_

"It's not the mission that's dull. It's the opponents," Yzak said shooting down several missiles streaking towards his direction. "When you've been fighting against strong opponents for as long as we have, Rookie, you find weaker opponents boring. These guys may be fine for newbies like you, but experienced soldiers will find these guys boring to fight."

_"Newbie? I'm not a newbie!"_ Saya shouted, insulted. She wasn't a Red Coat for nothing. '_How dare he say I'm a newbie!'_ She thought, fuming, as she rushed ahead of the group eager to prove herself. _'I'll show him who's a newbie!'_

"Wait!" Yzak shouted. "Running ahead like that-"

_"Let her go,"_ Zane interrupted. _"She's a Red Coat like us. Unless the Academy has lowered their standards, she's more than capable of handling whatever they throw at her. She'd be more of a burden if she wasn't."_

* * *

_The Archangel_

"Dammit!" Dearka cursed as the ship shuddered from a few hits of missiles. He was holding onto the prison bars that kept him upright. The battleship was going through a barrage of fire, but it would take a lot more than that to bring it down. Though this didn't help Dearka's mood as he was once again shook off balance. "What the hell's going on out there?"

"Isn't it obvious? JOSH-A's under attack," Saul said lazily as he held onto his bed.

"Wait a minute!" Dearka exclaimed, clearly shocked. "Why is JOSH-A under attack? I thought we were going attack Panama!"

"Apparently, everyone thought that, too," Nicol responded also holding onto his bed. He was sweating out of nervousness. "But it looks like Alaska was the real target."

The _Archangel_ shook as it was hit again. Dearka, who had been standing in his cell, lost his balance and banged his head against one of the bars and fell over on his bottom. "Ow! Dammit!"

"You okay, Dearka?" a concerned Nicol asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine," he responded, rubbing his forehead. "Just a bruise."

"Could be worse," Saul said. "If this ship goes down, we go down with it."

* * *

_Inside JOSH-A_

Mu ran through the corridors of the base trying to find the _Archangel_ and any information regarding what was currently happening. It was at that moment that he felt it: a strange pressure-like feeling, the same spine tingling sensation he got whenever Rau Le Creuset was nearby. He reached the door to the command center and peered inside.

The room was empty, save for a ZAFT White Coat by the name of Rau Le Creuset. Who stood over the console doing god knows what. Rau spun around and fired. Mu pulled his head back in time barely dodging the bullets. Rau took off heading for a side door. Mu entered the room and fired at Rau. Rau reached the doorway and used the door frame for cover while Mu moved behind a console to use as cover as well.

"It's been awhile, Mu La Flaga," Rau greeted, though his tone was far from welcoming. "I don't have time to be fooling around. Though we've only just met again, I apologize for leaving so soon. But if you're still hanging around here, then your usefulness to the Earth Forces' is almost at an end. Oh Hawk of Endymion, how the mighty have fallen!"

Rau laughed and fired a few more rounds before taking off. Mu considered following him, but he needed to know why Rau was here. He turned to the computer Rau had been looking at. What he saw turned his blood cold, something he thought he'd never see again. "No..." he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "They wouldn't..."

* * *

Flay ran through the corridors of the base wishing for the hundredth time that she had paid better attention to the route they took from the _Archangel_. She was hopelessly lost in the massive base. It was like a maze, and she wondered why it was built this way briefly. She reached an intersection when an Earth Alliance soldier appeared from another hallway. "A ZAFT soldier!" he shouted, staring down a different hallway as he drew his sidearm.

_BANG!_

The soldier fell to his side bumping Flay in the process. Flay stumbled, shrieking as she fell into the intersection. She glanced up from the direction the shot came from and she noticed one thing and it frightened her. Standing there was an armed masked man wearing a white ZAFT uniform. She silently hoped someone, anyone, was still around to come to her rescue but it looked pretty obvious that no one will be helping her. She looked for the next best thing: something to defend herself with. She noticed it and reached for the fallen soldiers gun and pointed it at the man, her hands shaking as she held the weapon.

"What have we here?" the man said, more intrigued than anything. He knew soldiers when he saw one, but this girl in front of him was acting far from one. Was it the feeling of her intense fear radiating off of her face? Or was it something else?

Flay's eyes widened in shock. That voice. It sounded just like her father's, but that was impossible. He was dead. She saw the ship he was on explode before her eyes! And this man didn't even look remotely like her father at all. "That…That voice…Why...why do you sound like my daddy?"

The man didn't react, or if he did, she didn't see it. Instead, he rushed towards her. His speed and reflexes were far greater than the girl's own. The shock from his fist forced her to fire a single shot before she was overcome by darkness and fainted into the man's arm.

* * *

Mu rushed towards the nearest hanger. He had to warn everyone on the _Archangel _before it was too late. He finally reached a hanger but it was a mess. Debris littered the hanger floor and much of the hanger crew was trying to put out a fire that erupted at another end of the large space. There were a few Spearhead fighters sitting in the hanger that looked flyable. He needed one of those fighters. While he was back in the command room, he learned that the _Archangel _had been participating in the battle just outside the base.

"What? They've been completely wiped out! That's impossible!" a HRL soldier manning the hanger's comm console said.

Mu ran to that man. "Who's in charge here?"

The soldier turned to him. "Ah... At the moment sir, you're the only ranking officer here."

"Then get out of here now! The base is being abandoned!" Mu urgently informed. "Get everyone here at least ten kilometers from the base as quickly as you can!"

This didn't make any bit of sense to the soldier one bit. "Ten kilometers? I don't understand sir."

"Just get out of here NOW!"

The soldier nodded. "Ah...Yes sir."

Not bothering to watch him gather the hanger crew and flee, Mu rushed to the nearest fighter grabbing a discarded helmet along the way. He climbed into the cockpit and started the fighter up. A moment later, he took off, heading for the _Archangel_'s last known coordinates.

* * *

_Outside JOSH-A's Main Gate_

The Farsight reached the surface of the water near the _Archangel_. "_Archangel_, I've taken care of the underwater units for now, but more will come," John explained. "I'm returning for resupply."

_"Roger,"_ Miriallia responded. _"Chris and Liz are also heading back as well. Their machines have taken serious damage and can't fight anymore."_

"I have no ammo left in the bazooka," John informed as the Farsight rose out of the water's surface. "I'll get my rifle and cover the ship while they get inside."

The Farsight landed on the port mobile suit catapult and entered the hanger. He retrieved his sniper rifle and loaded some clips onto the Farsight's ammo racks. As he turned towards one of the catapults, the catapult door exploded from a barrage of missiles. John swore, "If we don't get any reinforcements soon, there won't be anyone left to save when they do get here."

* * *

Mu piloted his fighter over the battlefield, trying to avoid getting into a fight with ZAFT as he headed for the main naval gate where the _Archangel_ should be. Hopefully that is.

A GINN fired at him. Mu evaded the incoming bullets and fired off a missile hitting the GINN's mono-eyed main camera. Mu quickly flew past it before it could recover. He had to find the _Archangel_. He didn't have time to waste on fighting.

A few minutes later, Mu spotted the main gate as well as the _Archangel_ in the heart of the battle it played out on. "There she is!"

The _Archangel_ had taken a beating. There was a gaping hole in one of the catapults and the other was open, allowing the Surge and the Buster to land. Standing on top of the ship was the Farsight destroying mobile suits with single, well aimed shots from his rifle.

Mu headed for the _Archangel_. He opened up a comm line trying to warn Murrue and the others, but a GINN spotted him and fired. Mu spotted it at last second and tried to evade the GINN's fire, but he wasn't quick enough. A round struck his fighter and he was quickly losing altitude. It was lucky that the shot didn't cause his fighter to explode. "Dammit!" Mu swore as he struggled to keep the fighter stable. "_Archangel_! _Archangel_, come in! This is La Flaga! _Archangel, _come in!"

There was no response, however. Either his radio was damaged or theirs was. "I guess I've got no choice. Clear the way cause I'm coming through!"

Mu aimed his fighter for the gaping hole in the catapult door. The fighter barely crashed into the deck, skidding across the catapult and crashing into the hastily erected crash net. Mu quickly jumped out of the cockpit and ran towards the bridge, ignoring Murdoch and the others' surprised shocks at his arrival.

"What's he doing here?" Liz asked. "I thought he was transferred off the ship."

"Apparently it didn't stick." Chris said.

* * *

_The Bridge_

"Captain!" Mu shouted as he entered the bridge out of breath from his run.

The captain glanced around quickly recognizing who had addressed her. "What the hell are you doing here?" a very surprised Murrue asked. Wasn't he supposed to be transferred?

Mu ignored her question. "No time...We have to get out of here right now!"

Murrue was confused. "What?"

"There's a large Cyclops System under the base! It's powerful enough to turn everything within ten kilometers of the base into a blast furnace!" Mu said shocking the entire bridge crew. "There aren't enough forces here to defend the base long enough for reinforcements to arrive! Soon, the defenders will be overrun and ZAFT will reach the base interior! That's when they'll activate the System and destroy the base! And in the process, take out more than half of fighting strength! That's the outcome of this battle as imagined by the top brass!"

"It can't be!" Murrue said, trying to convince herself that he was wrong.

"I swear to you. I saw it with my own eyes. The command center is abandoned. The only ones that are left are the HRL forces and the _Archangel_ because those bigwigs have given up on her!"

"So they left us here to die?" Arnold asked.

"Only after we give them a desperate struggle so the enemy doesn't know it's abandoned."

"Wha...What kind of strategy this?" a stunned Taikyu said.

"Because this is a war." Mir said, her eyes watering. "And because we're all supposed to be good soldiers. If they tell us to, I guess we're supposed to throw away our lives." The moment she heard Mu speak about the Cyclops System, all her confidence and her beliefs shattered. The memories that kept her up in the past few nights, images and nightmares of Kira and Tolle dying all because of the war, resurfaced as she began to break down.

Murrue scowled. They, and everyone else in JOSH-A, had been left to die by their own commanders. The bridge was silent save for the distress calls from various forces fighting in JOSH-A.

_"This is the _Grant_! The Northern Naval Gate is lost! I repeat, ZAFT has breached the North Gate!"_

_"...We're being overrun! There's too many of them! We need assistance!"_

_"The entire Sixth Air Defense Force has been wiped out! Command! We need reinforcements! Command? Come in Command!"_

_"This is the 14th Armored Battalion! We need reinforcements! We need rein...AAAAGH-"_

Murrue came to her decision. "If the whole objective of this battle was to lure the ZAFT forces closer in, then in my opinion, this ship has already completed its objective." And to ensure the safety of her own crew, she added, "Note that I, Murrue Ramius, Captain of the _Archangel_, make this decision alone. No other member of the crew is to be held responsible."

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself Captain," Mu said.

Murrue ignored him and stood up. "This ship will now abandon the battle area and make its withdrawal. Inform Mr. Alaric and the others of what's happened and then signal the other ships to follow us. Engines to maximum. Head to port. We'll make our escape there!"

"This won't be an easy battle for us," Mu said as Murrue sat back down. "I'm launching as well."

"But Commander-"

"Don't worry. Remember, I'm the guy who makes the impossible, possible."

* * *

Zane smirked as he launched from the _Cousteau_. They had returned to resupply their mobile suits when Creuset had returned. Yzak and the others had been eager to join the others heading into base interior but Creuset had ordered them to attack the main gate. The legged ship was there and as a result, it was still standing. They'd be far enough from the base interior to allow them to escape before the Cyclops System could reach them.

It was time to end that troublesome ship once and for all. And if they couldn't destroy it, then the Cyclops would.

_"Alright! We're gonna get a piece of the legged ship!"_ Saya said as her DINN joined the launching mobile suits from the _Cousteau_.

"Calm down Rookie." Yzak said in an annoyed tone. "That cocky attitude will get you killed. Especially against that ship. So tone it down. I've lost enough teammates against that accursed ship and its mobile suits."

_"Indeed. If we can take that ship out, it will cement our victory here."_ Zane added.

Yzak nodded. "Alright. Listen up everybody! We're going after the legged ship. And we're gonna destroy that ship once and for all!"

* * *

"This is insane," Nisha said as he fired at more ZAFT mobile suits. They had received information about the Cyclops System only minutes ago. "Who in their right mind would sacrifice their soldiers like this?"

_"This is war. People will die, no matter what happens. But I do agree_," Heero said, angry inside at their betrayal. _"It was Sutherland and those like him that did this."_

_"Now is not the time for this,"_ John said. _"We can worry about that after we've escaped."_

_"Heads up!"_ Mu said from the cockpit of his Sky Grasper. _"We've got company!"_

A group of ZAFT mobile suits appeared, heading for them, the Duel and a red GINN in leading in the front.

Heero growled as he targeted the red GINN. The machine and the Raven had always fought, so it seemed that the two pilots had a history together. Still, the Raven was out of the battle for good, so it was his turn to fight.

"Damn it! Where is the Raven?" Zane swore as he looked for said machine. He was so caught up in his search that he did not hear his cockpit warning alarm until Omega One was right on top of him.

Crying out in surprise, he pulled back on the controls, only to have Omega One's beam saber miss him by a mere inch. Growling, Zane pulled out his railgun, eager to fire a shot right into Omega One's cockpit.

"_The Raven is out of the fight, for good."_ The voice over his cockpit speakers got him off-guard, but Zane did not care. All he wanted was to fight Chris, and Omega One was not going to stop him!

He targeted the cockpit door, but when he pulled the trigger, the winged machine dodged to the left. Zane swore and tried again, only for the same thing to happen again. "Damn it! Stay still!"

Heero closed his eyes and called upon the Zero System, which showed him which moves would be used, and how to counter those very moves.

His eyes snapped open, just as he dodged the red GINN's attempt to slash his machine in half with a sword. "You lack control, and are too driven by emotions." Heero mused as he flew back from the GINN, its sword having missed him again.

Pulling out the Buster Rifle, Heero jumped upwards, firing a low-power shot at the GINN, which dodged the blast. Heero opened up with Wing Zero's shoulder-mounted Gatling guns, the bullets doing very little damage, but still catching the pilot off-guard nonetheless.

Zane growled as he felt the small shells impact his machine, forcing him to defend the most fragile areas, mainly the head and main cameras. While the bullets did little damage against his machine, they served another purpose.

Heero then stopped the bullet assault, only to open fire with the Buster Rifle at _half_ its full power. The massive beam sped right at him, making Zane gawk at the size. Jumping upwards into the air, the huge golden light passed right beneath his red GINN. Zane could only wonder at the power of the machine he was facing.

'_Just how strong _is_ that machine?!'_

Zane was going to get his answer as soon as the Cyclops was engaged.

On top of the _Archangel_, John fired the last rounds from his rifle. The two DINNs exploded. "You're not sinking this ship." he said as he discarded the spent clip.

At that moment, a trio of DINNs fired off a barrage of missiles. They streaked towards the top of the _Archangel_'s hull and the Farsight. John swore he jumped trying to avoid the incoming missiles but several missiles hit the Farsight. The badly damaged Farsight crashed onto the hull. Its right shin, entire left leg and right bicep were destroyed. "Gah! Dammit!" John cursed through clenched teeth.

Suddenly, a Guul mounted GINN swooped down in front of the bridge of the warship, its rifle aimed at its crew. Murrue and the bridge crew all stared down the barrel of the rifle in horror as Liz screamed and made a futile dive for cover. "No!" John screamed from the cockpit of his crippled machine. He was unable to help them.

Mu, Nisha and Heero turned from their own battles to see the GINN. They aimed for the GINN but couldn't fire. If they did, they'd hit the GINN and the _Archangel_'s bridge. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the GINN pilot started to squeeze the trigger. It was too late. They had lost their comrades!

As if on cue, a green beam shot from above tore through the rifle effectively destroying the weapon without hitting anything else. Everyone in the area looked up trying to find the source of the shot. Descending on the GINN and the _Archangel_ was a white mobile suit none of them had ever seen before. The mobile suit drew a beam saber and sliced the GINN's head off. The GINN backed off as the newcomer took a position in front of the _Archangel_'s bridge with its majestic blue wings outstretched shielding it from any further harm.

_"This is Kira Yamato. Please get to safety. I'll cover you."_

The GINNs and the DINNs resumed their attacks on the _Archangel_ and the other defenders. A seed shattered in the back of Kira's mind. The winged mobile suit locked on to every nearby ZAFT mobile suit as the Freedom's railguns unfolded and plasma beam cannons flipped over its shoulders. Kira fired off a massive barrage of perfectly aimed beam shots. The heads, limbs and weapons of ZAFT mobile suits exploded, including the crimson GINN's head. Stunned pilots of both damaged and undamaged mobile suits backed away from the Freedom and the _Archangel_, unsure of what to do against the power the Freedom displayed.

Out of all the pilots within this battle, only one of them wasn't afraid of the newcomer. "I don't know who you are or what you're doing here, but you're going down!" Yzak shouted firing at the Freedom.

The Freedom raised its shield, blocking the Duel's beams. For a moment, Yzak noticed the Freedom stall and used it as an opportunity to get closer. The Duel drew its saber and lunged at the Freedom. Kira countered by drawing one of his own sabers and the two warriors clashed blades. Yzak aimed the Duel's railgun at the Freedom's head and fired, but Kira was faster and pulled the Freedom's head out of the line of fire. Before Yzak could get his guard back up, Kira swung his saber low. Yzak watched in horror as the saber came towards the cockpit. Suddenly, Kira lowered the saber slashing through the Duel's knees instead. Kira kicked the Duel sending it to the waters.

_"I got you sir,"_ Saya said as her DINN swooped down and grabbed the Duel. _"Are you alright sir?"_

Yzak ignored her, his thoughts on what just happened. "He didn't...But why..." Normally, when you have the opportunity to kill your opponent, you'd take the chance, but the pilot of the winged mobile suit clearly did not intend to end his life. It contradicted the whole point of this war.

_"Don't worry sir, we're heading back."_ Saya said, heading for the _Cousteau_.

Nisha started to laugh as Wing Zero landed on the _Archangel_ next to his machine. He knew he shouldn't do so in the middle of a battle, especially if at any minute they could all be annihilated by the Cyclops System, but he couldn't help it. Kira was alive after all! "Damn, good to see you Kira!" he cheered. "And the next time you scare us like that, you better be dead!"

_"Wow! That was amazing! Where'd you get a suit like that?"_ Liz said in awe, but she was speaking from the bridge.

_"While I admit that this is a happy little reunion, we do have more pressing matters to attend to,"_ John said. _"We have to get out of here. Now!"_

_"He's right. Miss Murrue, please get the_ Archangel _out of here. I'll deal with them,"_ Kira said.

_"You don't understand, Kira. Under headquarters, there's a...a Cyclops System!"_ Murrue said.

Kira's face paled in horror. He had heard of the Earth Forces' defeat at Endymion Crater before and how they used a Cyclops System to wipe out the invading ZAFT forces. If something like that was here too, then it was more than just escaping a simple battle. More was at stake here than anyone realized.

_"We're all just bait! We had no idea what they were planning this!"_

Kira turned back out the battle. After his encounter with Lacus Clyne in the PLANTs, he knew exactly what he needed to do. What he was fighting for he now knew what he had to do. He had to end this war without a single person's life lost in the process. And that meant everyone, including the Earth Forces and ZAFT forces. He was determined to end this war once and for all, and if he had to become the enemy to ensure Naturals and Coordinators would no longer quarrel, then so be it.

_"Attention, all ZAFT and Earth Alliance Forces! At any moment now, the Cyclops System under the Alaska Base will activate and the base will self-destruct! Please, cease fighting and withdraw from the area immediately!"_

More confusion spread across the ranks of the soldiers fighting and their commanders. Was this kid bluffing to try to get the ZAFT forces to flee? Or was he speaking the truth and they were moments away from being annihilated? A few ZAFT soldiers decided that it was better to be safe than sorry claiming that they needed to resupply. Many, still confused over everything that happened in the last few minutes, didn't do anything. The rest simply ignored him and resumed attacking the base and its defenders.

"_There is no need to leave."_ Heero suddenly said. Everyone looked at his machine like he was crazy.

"What are you talking about, Heero?" Nisha asked, speaking the question that was on everyone's minds.

"_There is a way to destroy the Cyclops System."_

John spoke next. _"How? How can you expect to do such a thing?"_

"_Yeah, the place underneath the base is a literal labyrinth of halls and corridors."_ Mu added as he flew overhead, firing off a few missiles at a couple of ZAFT DINNs.

"_Who said I was going _inside_ the base?"_ Heero asked.

Mu was silent for a minute before he busted out laughing. _"Oh man! I _knew_ there was a reason I liked you!"_

John also got the message, but his reaction was far different. _"Are you _serious_?! There is _no_ way that your machine's rifle can pierce that much metal and wiring in the short amount of time that we have!"_

"Man, Heero! If I had known that you were _this_ crazy, I wouldn't have agreed to cover you." Nisha remarked as he shook his head.

"_Cover me."_ Heero said as he took off into the air.

"You heard him, guys! Give him as much cover as you can!" Nisha replied as Kira and Mu also moved into position.

While Kira and Mu took on the aerial ZAFT units, Nisha took on the GINNs that were riding Guuls. Missiles sped out of the chest chamber as GINNs fell to their heat-seeking properties. Nisha opened up with the shoulder beam-cannons as well, taking out a few more Guul-riding GINNs that tried to shoot down Wing Zero from behind.

Heero immersed himself in the Zero System, drawing on one plan that had a chance of succeeding at least. It was nearly suicidal, but then again, if it was easy, it would not be up to the standards of a Gundam pilot anyway. He sped to the center of the base, looking over the charge of the Buster Rifle. It was more than enough, and given that it would take two shots, he would need as much cover as possible, but that was only if the first shot prompted an attack.

* * *

_Aboard the Earth Forces' Submarine, the Pisces_

Captain Sutherland sat in seat at the table waiting along with the rest of the officers from JOSH-A. It was almost time. They had just received word that ZAFT had breached the interior of the base and would soon overrun it. Sutherland had personally told the doomed fools that reinforcements would be there in less than twenty minutes. All they had to do was hold out until then. The door to the briefing room opened, Admiral Jamitov Hymen entered the room. All of the officers in the room saluted the Admiral. "Sir. ZAFT has breached the base interior," Sutherland informed. "It's time."

Jamitov nodded. He silently took his seat next to Sutherland. Before both of them was a pair of metal boxes attached to cables with a keyhole in the center. Both men pulled out their keys and inserted them into the keyholes.

"It is my sincerest wish that this terrible sacrifice will bring a swift end to the war," a solemn and weary Jamitov said.

"For the preservation of our blue and pure world," Sutherland added. "3...2...1."

Both men simultaneously turned the keys... and unleashed hell upon those at JOSH-A.

But it was Heero who soon unleashed hell back at them.

* * *

**(A/N**_: I got permission from **operation-meteor** to use this scene from his fic, Journey to a New Battlefield. This scene is his and his alone. I just got permission to use it._**)**

Climbing above the range of the guns of the ZAFT ground forces, Heero moved into position over the base. Charging the Twin Buster Rifle as he did so, he brought up a terrain map of the area on one of his side monitors.

Heero's eyes narrowed as he recalled his infiltration of the base several days ago, or more specifically, the facility maps he had pulled up on the computer during his hacking attempt. He had not saved them onto any external memory device, but they were stored in something much easier to access: his own mind.

With perfect clarity, he saw the floor plans of the base overlay perfectly with the terrain map in his mind's eye. Aiming the Twin Buster Rifle at the exact center of where he knew the Cyclops system to be located-the giant circular room that had been labeled as a storage facility on the map- he held his position as the barrels of the gun glowed with yellow energy. When the charge reached maximum he double checked his trajectory, took a breath, and pulled the trigger…

…and unleashed Armageddon.

The power to destroy an entire _colony _tore forth from the weapon in a massive torrent of yellow-gold hellfire. The energy blast slammed dead-center into the target area, and Heero's monitors were flooded by yellow light as a titanic explosion ripped through layers of earth, concrete, and steel. The base's mass driver, part of which ran over the area he had targeted, was utterly annihilated, as was the airfield.

People stared as the powerful blast faded, revealing the interior of the base. The structural integrity of the base was now in question, as parts were collapsed and hallways were littered with live sparking wires. But Heero knew that he was not done yet.

* * *

Underneath JOSH-A, the massive Cyclops System started to come to life. The first to feel its effects where the HRL soldiers in the interior of JOSH-A and the ZAFT forces that had penetrated the interior. Unlike a normal self-destruct that would have engulfed the base in a massive explosion, the microwave weapon rapidly heated up the munitions and propellant of weapons used by both forces causing them to explode. It had the same effect on human bodies. Water in the human body would quickly heat up. The people affected inflated like balloons. Mercifully, this agonizing process only lasted a few seconds before they too exploded from the inside out.

They were the first victims of the Cyclops System but they also happened to be the last. The System was stopped before it reached the critical point and the base as well as the array itself was destroyed by the intense heat.

* * *

Zooming in on the impact area with his sensors, Heero saw that he had ripped a massive hole in the ground, and had torn through several layers of the base's fortifications. '_The next shot should do it.'_ he thought. It would _have _to; his instincts were telling him that he was running out of time, and quickly.

"Here goes," he muttered to himself. Taking aim again, Heero opened fire, once again releasing a power that none in the Cosmic Era had ever dreamed existed until today. Another massive explosion engulfed the base, and his visual sensors were once again obscured by bright yellow light. Still holding position, Heero knew that now he could only wait and see if he had destroyed his target; if he was still alive in the next few seconds, he would have his answer.

Eventually he could feel himself relax as his instincts told him that the threat had been neutralized. Adjusting his sensors again, he was able to confirm his suspicions; the crater was _deep_, and it had definitely passed the 500 meter mark where the Cyclops system had been stored. What he could make out on the bottom was little more than black and red earth, turned to glass by the incredible heat of the explosion.

Taking one last look at what had once been a combination of base and death trap, Heero gunned his engines and made a beeline for the _Archangel_. Contacting the ship, he saw Murrue's face appear on the monitor.

"This is Wing Zero," he said, "The Cyclops system has been destroyed."

* * *

"No way!" Sai said. "Heero did it!"

Murrue stared as Heero's machine made its way back to the ship. _"This is Wing Zero. The Cyclops system has been destroyed."_

The people on the ship cried out in happiness as the smoke faded to reveal the large hole that was left behind. It was their miracle. Wing Zero was indeed a surprising machine. As Heero came in, a missile from a malfunctioning GINN launched and hit another GINN's head clean off

The Guul of the headless GINN near the _Archangel_ exploded. The pilot screamed as shrapnel hit the GINN and he began to fall.

"I got you," Kira said grabbing the GINN's arm and carried it and its pilot to safety.

By some miracle, the _Archange_l barely managed to survive the aftermath of the Cyclops system, which would have taken them all out if it had not been for Heero.

* * *

The DINN carrying the Duel had made it half way to the _Cousteau_ when the blast hit the base. The DINN turned back watching the massive beam consume the base.

_"How... How they do that?"_ Saya said completely shocked by what had happened. _"They wiped out their own men as well as ours."_

Yzak didn't respond. This whole thing had left a bad taste in his mouth. A Natural piloting Dearka's machine. The new mobile suit that defeated him with ease. And now this.

Zane's headless GINN suddenly appeared alongside the DINN and the crippled Duel. _"It's simple. While technologically, the Naturals are inferior to us, they drastically outnumber us."_ Zane said with venom in his voice. _"They figured that one day, we'd likely attack their central command and as a result, planted a Cyclops System under the base. So if and when we'd attack, they had it lying in wait for us."_

_"But they sacrificed so many of their own soldiers!"_ Saya said. _"Not to mention the Cyclops was destroyed by that winged machine. I don't mean the new one. I mean Omega One!"_

_"You forget. They outnumber us. The losses they suffered here is nothing compared to the losses we suffered. And because they thought we were going to hit Panama, most of their forces had been sent there. Meaning our own deception ensured that they would suffer fewer causalities."_ Zane said. _"A truly disgusting tactic."_

_'Damn that machine! I would have defeated him if he hadn't been so sneaky.' _Zane thought as they flew back to the _Cousteau_.

* * *

"It can't be!" the Cousteau's Captain said in horror.

The entire bridge crew of the _Cousteau_ had similar looks of horror on their faces. They couldn't believe that the Earth Forces would do such a thing at their own headquarters. "It seems that we _would have_ fallen for the Earth Forces' trap," Rau said with a frown that went unnoticed by all around him.

* * *

_New Juneau_

Akira could only stare at the power that was unleashed from the machine, Omega One-_no_-Wing Zero. The massive golden beam of light had _decimated_ the entire Cyclops system! There was nothing of it left! Not even a small bolt!

"W-w-what happened?!" He exclaimed as the power was shown again and again. The guard also stared in shock, unable to believe the power himself.

"That…was…_full_ _power_?!" The man guarding him could only murmur that as he stared in awe and fear of Wing Zero.

Slumping back against his cell wall, Aki' was still in shock at the power of the machine Heero Yuy piloted. It was unlike _anything_ the C.E. Era had ever seen! People from both the EA and ZAFT were sure to be afraid of the _Archangel_ now, due to seeing how strong Wing Zero actually _was_.

Even NASA was sure to be afraid, well, more or less _wary_, but wary nonetheless. It was just hard to fathom that _one_ machine had _such_ power at its command.

'_What will it take to win this war? And if it takes that amount of power, can we even risk it?'_

The answer never came to the guard.

* * *

President Hilson was in shock at the mere _sight_ of the huge beam that had hit the Alaska base not too far off. The radius had been great enough so that she survived unscathed, but she had been close enough to see the power first hand.

The machine, Omega One, was now flying back to the legged ship, but the sheer display of its power was still before her, and it would not fade so soon…

* * *

_7th Fleet_

Tao watched with amazement as the true power of Omega One-_no_, Wing Zero-was unleashed on the Cyclops system that was confirmed to be beneath the base. With two shots of _unheard of_ magnitude, the system had been destroyed. She was in awe at the power, but at the same time, she was terrified of it.

And with good reason.

"That blast could take out a _colony_!" Heidi exclaimed as she took in the massive size of the beam. No one disagreed with her. It _was_ of that magnitude.

* * *

_Aboard the _Odin

"I see... So the Commander was going to meet up with the Eighth Fleet when Victoria was taken stranding him in Africa," Diana said.

"Indeed. But that's not all of it," Captain Burton of the Junk Guild replied. "We recently received word from some of our comrades on Earth that the new Earth Forces warship landed in Africa and defeated the Desert Tiger with the help of a band of rebels and a mercenary as well as a new machine that is not in any of our databases. A mercenary that Waltfeld himself identified as Commander Alaric and passed it on to the Junk Guild members that helped save his life. And there have been reports of a GINN High Maneuver Type fighting alongside that new warship since they left Africa."

"So he's fighting alongside them for now."

Burton nodded. "It appears that way. Oh... Before I forget, the last time he recorded a message for you," he said, pulling out a disc. "This is a copy of it."

Diana took the disc. "Thank you. Your people have been a tremendous help to us-"

Suddenly, a voice blared over the ship's intercom. _"Commander Kessel! Please report to the bridge at once! I repeat..."_

Diana stood up. "It seems something has happen. If you excuse me."

"I understand. I'll be heading back to my ship and oversee the supply transfer."

The two left Diana's office and went their separate ways. Captain Burton headed for the hanger while Diana headed for the bridge. A few minutes later, Diana stepped onto the bridge. The bridge was buzzing with activity. Lucius and Lee turned to her as she entered. "What has happened?"

"Spitbreak failed," Lucius bluntly told her. "The Alliance tried to use a Cyclops to destroy the base and our forces, but that was stopped by the new machine, Omega One. Early estimates put the causalities as low as ten percent and as high as thirty percent."

Diana swore as she took her chair. Another Cyclops was nearly used! "Contact Admiral Darlian immediately! I want a full status report on our holdings on Earth! If the Alliance is preparing a counterattack, I want to know where! And I want the supplies from Burton's ship aboard the Fleet now!" she ordered, her voice as cold as ice.

The Odin's bridge crew snapped into action, rushing to carry out her orders. A few minutes later, Admiral Darlian's face appeared on the main screen. _"What Kessel?"_ he said, his tone angry.

"Are the reports true? Did they use a Cyclops at JOSH-A?" Diana asked revealing no emotion.

_"Yes,"_ Darlian grunted. _"They nearly wiped our forces out."_

"What's the status on our remaining forces from the attack?"

_"What?"_

"Don't tell me they're just sitting on the waters outside Alaska. If they haven't already started to, tell them to regroup at Carpentaria."

_"Who do you think you are? You can't order me around! I am in command of this Operation!"_

"Dammit, you idiot!" Diana said, standing up. "This Operation is over! We lost! Order the retreat so we can regroup and determine what to do! If you won't then I will!"

Darlian scowled and closed the comm line. "Arrogant fool," Diana said. "What's the status on our Earth-based forces?"

"From what we can tell, they're fine for now. The Alliance hasn't mobilized any forces to attack our bases on Earth yet," Lucius said handing her a personal computer with the initial reports from Earth. "But from the reports coming in, ZAFT is in complete disarray. The entire momentum of the war has changed."

"Indeed it has," Diana mused staring at the initial reports. "Our forces would have been devastated today. We can expect to recover from such the blow very soon, but perhaps not until after the war is over. The playing field has been virtually leveled now. The question now is what do we do from here?"

* * *

Chapter is complete. Heero unleashes hell on the JOSH-A base, wiping it out as a result of the Cyclops System. Everyone is startled by the power he has at his command, and Kira returns to save the ship.

Anyway, constructive criticism is appreciated as are reviews. Flames, AKA hate-filled/spamming reviews, **_will_** be deleted and/or reported depending on if they are signed or not. Just a heads up.

Anyway, please read and review! ^^


	23. Phase 22: In the Name of Justice

Phase Twenty-Two: In The Name Of Justice

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**gagasgumilang208: No, Chris is not getting a regal looking MS. You find out what machine he gets here. :)**

**Titanic X: Glad you do.**

**CT7567Rules: The Traverse is based off of the Abrams tank used by real-life US forces. :) And Hilson **will** give Sutherland a piece of her mind for sure. ;3**

**A0930: Oh boy... here we go. XD Chris and Liz get their machines this chapter. :) You will see how Chris will react soon enough. ;3 And as for everything else, I am glad you like it so much. :D As for what I have planned, that is the best part! No one can tell with me~! :3 No need to be mad, I hope my chapters make up for being a bit of an unpredictable author. :)**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, the feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

**Read and review please!**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

_Thirteen Kilometers from the JOSH-A Crater_

Kira had pulled the injured GINN pilot from his damaged mobile suit and laid him out on the beach. The pilot was badly wounded. A piece of shrapnel had lodged itself in his abdomen, and his breathing was slow and labored as if he had to work to take every breath. Kira wasn't sure if he was going to survive. The pilot opened his eyes and caught a glimpse of the pilot and his mobile suit behind him. He stared at the brown haired boy. "Were you... the pilot of that... white mobile suit?" he weakly asked between breaths.

"Yes. Now hold on. I'm gonna get you some help," Kira told him.

The pilot could only smile sadly at the boy's kindness, but he already knew his own fate. "You...should have...left me there...Would...have been...quicker..." The pilot let out one last breath before the life drained from his eyes and his body went limp. Death had taken him.

Kira punched the ground in frustration and sorrow as soon as the ZAFT pilot drew his last breath of life. He had saved the pilot from Wing Zero's beam only to watch him die from his injuries. It was another casualty, another man claimed by the grim reaper, in this whole meaningless war. There was nothing more he could do for the man. Kira stood up and walked down the hill the Freedom and the GINN stood and towards the members of the Archangel's crew gathering beside the warship.

The crew all watched him; some even stared at him as he approached them from the top of the hill, most of them unsure if he was really there at all. Some believed they stared at the ghost of one of their most cherished comrades and friends.

A small smile crossed his lips. "I guess I made it just in time," he said trying to break the silence and the awkward glances he was receiving from familiar faces.

"Is it really you Kira?" Murrue asked. Her voice was shaky as if she was almost afraid that he would disappear at that moment.

Kira nodded as his smile widened a bit. "Yeah. It's me."

"Kira!" Miriallia shouted as she ran towards him with tears of joy rolling down her face. She hugged him as the other crew members gathered around him. They patted him on the back and shoulders as they gave him joyful greetings and thanks for saving them again. Someone even asked him if was alive or a ghost.

"It seems that you aren't an easy person to kill," John said as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"It's good to see you're still among the living, Kira. If you hadn't come when you did, we probably wouldn't have made it out of there."

"It was nothing," Kira replied embarrassed at the praise he was given from the older man.

John chuckled at his reaction. "Always the humble one."

Kira glanced passed the group around him and saw Chris, Liz, Sai, Nisha and Heero stood back from the group but all _five_ were smiling at him. Kira walked away from the group gathered around him and headed for the five of them.

Sai was the first to speak. "It's good to see you, Kira."

"Yeah!" Liz started. "You have any idea how worried we were?"

"Ah... Sorry." Kira said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Ignore her," Chris said. "We're all just happy to see you alive."

"How did you survive?" Nisha asked. "The Aegis was around even the cockpit!"

Heero was silent for a moment before he spoke. "If I survived the explosion of my first machine, then you could survive that as well." He said as a slight smirk played across his face.

Kira smiled a little and then turned towards Murrue and Mu. Now that everyone has confirmed he was alive, it was time to start answering questions they probably have for him. And he needed to know what their intentions are as well. "I suppose you have a couple million questions for me."

"No. Just a million," Mu said jokingly as he tried to lighten the mood.

Kira almost smiled. If there was one person that could make conversations easier to deal with, it was the commander. "Well, I have plenty of questions for guys as well."

Mu nodded. "Yeah. Well, a lot has happened." He paused as if unsure of the answer he was about to get. "So... Are you with ZAFT now?"

Kira momentarily stared at the commander like he was crazy before he remembered he was wearing a ZAFT flightsuit. "No. I was in the PLANTs for a while, but I haven't joined ZAFT," Kira answered but continued, "However, I'm no longer with the Earth Forces, either."

This reply caused a few to gasp while others became confused. Only their captain, Murrue Ramius, understood what he meant and nodded. "I understand. There are some things we'll have to talk about," she started as she glanced at the winged mobile suit. "First, this machine of yours…What should we do with that?"

Kira's face turned serious at this point. "If you're talking about maintenance and resupplying, there's no need for that right now. That's because this machine is equipped with a Neutron Jammer Canceler."

Everyone was stunned by this revelation. Everyone had believed that the N-Jammers effects couldn't be canceled out, but there some among the groups that weren't feeling shock. There were those that felt fear and horror at the N-Jammer Canceler and what it could mean for the war. The return of nuclear weapons was something they were all not looking forward to if it appears that way.

"N-Jammer Canceler?" Mu asked just as stunned as everyone else.

"You mean this machine is nuclear powered?" Jackie Tonomura asked. He just couldn't believe it but there in front of him stood the Freedom as proof.

"Wow. Where'd you get this thing Kira?" Chandra asked.

This was exactly what Kira wanted to avoid. "If you start asking about specifics, you're not going to get anything from me and I'll have to leave," Kira warned them and silenced any further questions they might have had. "And even if I had to fight you, I wouldn't let you take it from me. I was entrusted with it and I will take care of it." For a second, he saw the image of the pink haired songstress in the back of his mind, but he soon snapped out of it.

The captain only sighed understandingly. "Very well then. You have my word that no one will touch your machine or the equipment inside." Murrue turned to the rest of the crew standing behind her. "Is that clear?"

The crew all nodded or said "Yes."

This seemed to please Kira. "Thank you for understanding."

"Well then," Mu began. "We should probably finish this up inside."

Kira nodded. "Yeah. I guess so."

"Before we go, Kira, I need you to do something for me," John said.

Kira eyed the man warily. "What?"

"Take the Farsight from the _Archangel_'s hull and lay it out on the beach," he solemnly replied after seeing the way the boy reacted. "It's been damaged beyond our ability to repair it, even if we cannibalize that other GINN. I need to dispose of it properly."

Kira glanced at the damaged mobile suit still stranded on the hull. The way the older man said his request made it seem like he was saying goodbye to a friend. The boy could only nod. "I understand."

It didn't take very long for the Freedom to carry the crippled GINN off of the _Archangel_ and lay it out on the beach a safe distance from the warship. The Freedom stepped away from the machine as John pulled out a detonator from his coat pocket. Kira knew what he was planning and he couldn't help but feel the magnitude of how much emotion John must be feeling right now.

"So long, Farsight. You've been a truly great comrade," John said as he pushed the button on the detonator and watched as his mobile suit began its self-destruct sequence.

The Farsight's exploded in a great fireball, leaving only the smoldering wreckage behind. John brushed a lone tear from his eye. The Farsight wasn't his first mobile suit, but it was the one he had piloted the longest ever since he was first given the command of the 11th Fleet, in fact. He had grown very attached to it, and it saddened him to see the Farsight destroyed. However, it had been too badly damage to repair. Even had he still been a member of ZAFT and had access to their parts and supplies, most mechanics would tell him that he's better off getting a new machine than taking all the time and money to fix it up. So in the end, he had no other choice but to give the Farsight its funeral pyre. John raised his hand, saluting his destroyed machine, his friend, and comrade.

* * *

_The _Archangel's_ Bridge_

_A Short While Later_

"So that was their strategy?" Kira asked once Mu had explained what happened though it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"From what we can tell," Mu replied.

"And they decided not to tell us a thing about it," Murrue added.

"It's obvious that Alliance Command knew ahead of time that ZAFT's true target was Alaska, and for quite some time, or they wouldn't have been able to set the Cyclops under the base like that," John included. Naturals weren't the best hackers when it comes to cracking codes made by Coordinators so there was only one other way they had known about this. "Someone tipped them off."

Kira recalled when he first learned of the attack on Alaska. It was back in the PLANTs when he was with Lacus Clyne and her father. "The ZAFT Supreme Council didn't know either."

John was stunned by this. "What? Then that can only mean that the one who informed them was high up…Very high up…High enough that it would be impossible for a spy from the Earth Alliance to achieve such a rank. But that would mean that they were someone in ZAFT that wanted this massacre to happen." Then the realization hit him and his eyes widened. "My God...That means...That means I was right!"

Everyone stared at the man. They did not get the picture and he wasn't explaining himself. "What do you mean?" Kira asked. "Right about what?" Even Heero was confused, and that was hard to do in of itself.

John sighed. "It's long, long story. And if I'm right, which I pray I'm not, then this war just took a turn for the worst in more ways than one. But at the moment, I need to verify a few things first before I can say for certain. I don't know what you're planning, but depending on what it is, I may ask for one of the Sky Graspers so I can get in touch with some of my contacts and find out what exactly has happened."

"That raises another question. Just what are we going to do now?" Chris asked.

"Now..." Murrue said, uncertain of her own answer.

"We haven't been able to raise Command due the interference from the N-Jammers," Romeo informed her. "Should we make repairs on our own and head for Panama?"

"Oh really? And you think they'll be happy to see us?" Mu sarcastically said. "We know far too much for our own good."

"They'll probably say that we disobeyed orders and deserted in the face of the enemy. They'd court-marshal us and then lock us up," Murrue added, angry at the whole situation all of them were caught up in. "It's becoming harder and harder to understand who and what we're fighting for."

It was at that moment, Lacus's words echoed in his mind. He understood what he needed to do and it was time for them to realize as well. "Miss Murrue. What is it that you think we should be fighting against? To end this war?" Kira asked. "Whatever it is, I believe that it's time for us to start fighting against it."

She stared at him before saying, "I don't know. I honestly don't know. But at the moment, it isn't with the Earth Forces." The Earth Alliance wouldn't welcome them back, and she wouldn't be surprised if ZAFT was still coming after them. There was one other place she could think of and it isn't too far from their current location. "Set course for ORB. We'll see if they're willing to help us."

"Good idea. If they're not willing to help us, then I should be able to contact the Junk Guild to lend us a hand with repairs," John said.

"Any other suggestions?" Murrue asked the people gathered on the bridge but none said anything, until Taikyu spoke up. "Wait, what about NASA? I mean, we _are_ in their boundaries, which means we _should_ be able to request aid from them!"

Murrue thought for a moment before Johanna added something big. "Apparently the president was supposed to be headed to the JOSH-A base earlier today. If she gets here, maybe we can ask _her_ for help."

"Very well then. We'll do just that."

* * *

_ZAFT Central Command_

_Aprilius One_

Athrun walk through the command center after passing through numerous ZAFT officers that were frantically rushing to get some scope on the situation. Athrun's old instructor, Commander Yuri, had told him what happened. Operation Spitbreak had failed. Actually, failed wasn't a strong enough word for it. It had been _stopped_ by that machine, Wing Zero, no less.

But that hadn't been all. Apparently, Lacus Clyne had betrayed them by helping a spy steal a new prototype mobile suit. Athrun couldn't believe it. Lacus…Betraying them? Impossible! Lacus would never do such a thing. She was the beloved songstress of the PLANTs and a strong peace advocate. Handing over a new weapon to the Earth Forces would only prolong the war, something he knew Lacus would never want to happen.

Athrun entered the office of the PLANT Supreme Council Chairman and saluted. His father was at his desk discussing matters with a group of ZAFT officers.

"They tried to use a Cyclops System. We could not find the remains of a large array under what's left of the base though," one officer informed.

"What of Le Creuset?" Hong Fa Wu asked.

"He's with the group of survivors heading for Carpentaria but he hasn't officially reported in yet."

"When he reaches Carpentaria, I want a full report from him," his father's superior ordered.

"Yes sir," the officer said, saluting.

Another officer entered the room. "Sir, Eileen Canaver and Ian Kessel are requesting an emergency meeting on JOSH-A. They've gathered in the meeting chamber."

Wu scowled slightly at the mention of Kessel's name. He was getting a migraine and it didn't help that more problems arose to complicate things more. "I need an objective assessment on the situation," he said, ignoring the new arrival. "How many we lost, estimates on our remaining fighting strength, and where the hell is the Clyne family?"

The officer nearly flinched at their chairman's outburst and almost stuttered his response. "W-we don't know, Sir. It appears that Clyne had an escape route prepared in advance. It may take some time to find them."

"Inform the Justice Department. Eileen Canaver, Ian Kessel, and the other council members that supported Clyne are to be detained immediately!"

"But sir-"

"Lacus Clyne was seen consorting with a spy. Now she and her father are missing and the plans to Operation Spitbreak's true target were leaked to the enemy!" Wu said, slamming his fists on the desk angrily. "It's obvious even to a child what happened! Clyne betrayed us! Now that bastard Kessel and the others are demanding answers from me! They're the ones to blame! Yes...In fact, they're probably the ones that are hiding them! Of course! That's the only explanation!"

Athrun was stunned by this order. Wu had just removed virtually everyone on the Council that weren't his supporters. He may not know about politics completely, but this isn't something a Chairman should do with their power and authority.

The officers nodded and walked out of the office, leaving Athrun with Chairman Wu. For the first time in his life, he felt nervous standing in front of him. His father's superior sat back down on his chair, rubbing his forehead as Athrun walked up to the desk. "Chairman," he said.

"What did you call me?" Wu growled. He was not in the best of moods.

Athrun flinched and quickly corrected himself. "My apologies, Supreme Council Chairman Wu."

Hong Fa Wu stared at his comrade's son with cold eyes. "Do you understand how serious the situation is?"

"Yes... But still. I can't believe what I'm hearing. Lacus…Aiding a spy? It's just not possible."

"Look at this," Chairman Wu said, pushing a button on his desk. A panel on the wall opened and revealed a large screen. The image of mobile suit appeared. It was the very same mobile suit that flew passed his shuttle as he was heading back to the PLANTs. Standing before the machine were two people with their backs to the camera. The first was a brown haired person in a ZAFT Red Coat uniform. He couldn't recognize this guy, but he felt a sense of familiarity from him. Next to him was a girl in a dress with pink hair. The girl turned to face the camera seconds before the feed was cut. There was no doubt about who it was. It was Lacus.

"This was taken by a security camera at a military factory. The Freedom was stolen immediately after this was taken. Why would anyone accuse her unless the evidence was beyond dispute? You may think it's not possible, but these are the facts. It goes without saying that you're engagement to Lacus Clyne is over. It hasn't been officially announced, but she's being treated as a fugitive wanted for treason."

Athrun grimaced. Treason... He had hoped that it was mistake or some nightmare or even some kind of bad joke! Or that it was an impostor posing as Lacus, but there was no denying it now. She had helped a spy steal a new, prototype mobile suit.

"Your next mission will be to recover the stolen X10A Freedom and eliminate the pilot as well as all persons and places that he might have come in contact with," Chairman Wu said, turning off the screen. "Pick up the X09A Justice from the Armory and leave as soon as the preparations are complete. If the Freedom cannot be recovered, you are authorized to destroy it."

Hong Fa Wu's orders surprised him. Eliminating the pilot, he understood, but eliminating all that came into contact with it as well? "Eliminating everyone and everything that it came in contact with? Isn't that a little extreme?" he asked.

"Those machines, the X09A Justice and X10A Freedom, are equipped with Neutron Jammer Cancelers."

Athrun's face became white. "They have N-Jammer Cancelers?! Impossible!" Athrun said, horrified at the secret of the new machines. "Why did you build them? The PLANTs made the decision to abandon nuclear technology!"

"If we want to win this war, then we'll need that power," Wu replied as he pushed the call button summoning a member of his staff. "Your mission is extremely important. Give it your utmost effort. Now go."

* * *

_ZAFT Supreme Council Meeting Chamber_

A group of armed soldiers entered the council chamber. "What is the meaning of this?" Eileen demanded.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am," the officer said. "But you, Councilers Kessel, Kasim, Jesek, and Elsman are to be placed under arrest by orders of Chairman Wu."

Many council members were stunned. Hong Fa Wu was arresting all of those that had opposed him and his supporters. Removing any opposition to Hong Fa Wu's faction and making him the undisputed ruler of ZAFT.

Ian chuckled from his seat. "So...Wu must either be desperate or insane to pull such a stunt. He's forced my hand, so I shall force his," he mumbled and stood up, reaching into the pocket of his coat.

All of the soldiers aimed their rifles at him. "Do me a favor. Tell Hong Fa Wu that he's gone too far this time and that I'll be coming for him, with NASA's help. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But make no mistake, I'm coming for him," he said, pulling his hand out of his pocket.

Two the surprise of everyone in the room, he held his hand up at the soldiers, holding it like a mock gun. Before anyone could react, two of the ZAFT soldiers in the rear of the group, Clyne supporters, secretly dropped a pair of smoke grenades in their group. The smoke grenades went off filling the room with smoke. Chaos reigned as everyone tried to figure out what happened. There was the sound of footsteps, punches, and bodies hitting the ground. When the smoke cleared and everyone could see again, four guards, including the two that dropped the grenades, were unconscious on ground and Ian was gone. "Dammit!" the officer swore. "Don't let him escape! Find him!"

Ian Kessel entered his office with his assistant. Sitting on his chair was a ZAFT officer's uniform, a pair of sunglasses and a blond men's wig. He quickly changed and handed his clothes to his assistant. "Hide these and get out of here," he told the young woman.

"Yes sir." She nodded before leaving.

Ian pulled out a suitcase from under his desk and pulled out for his cell phone. "It's me. Wu's arrested Clyne's supporters on the Council. Fortunately, my escape plan so far has gone off without a hitch. Warn my wife about what's happened. And my daughter as soon as possible. If I'm not at the meeting spot in two hours, then I've been caught. Until then." He closed the phone and left his office.

The whole building was in an uproar. Soldiers were searching for him. They clearly thought that only an idiot would return to their office after that stunt and they had only just now decided to check his office. "Sir, what were you doing in there?" one of the several soldiers present asked.

"What does it look like?" he said, lowering the tone of his voice to sound different. "A possible spy is on the loose and I was ordered to search his office for any incriminating evidence which is what I found. I must get these documents to the Justice Department. Now! Or would you like to be the one to tell Chairman Wu that you've been holding up an investigation into the traitors within our own government?"

"No sir. Sorry sir!" the soldier nervously stuttered as he and his comrades stepped aside.

Ian walked past them. _'So far, so good. Let's hope I don't run into any soldiers that have a backbone,'_ he thought as he headed for the exit.

* * *

_JOSH-A remains_

President Hilson exited the limo as she gazed upon the damage that had been inflicted upon the former NASA base. "Whoa…"

Looking back, she was able to see the white ship, the _Archangel_, behind her. The crew was outside the ship, waiting to speak with her.

Walking over, the U.S. leader stopped before them. "So, you are the former ship of the Earth Forces?" she asked.

Everyone there nodded. "Yes, ma'am!" Murrue said as she saluted. The president waved off the salute.

"No need to salute here. I see you wiped out the Cyclops system?" President Hilson asked as she gestured towards the smoldering crater.

"We didn't, but Heero did!" a girl said as she pointed at a blue-eyed, brown-haired boy. The President of the United States looked him over, his eyes never wavering considering the circumstances he was under.

His blue eyes held a cold and distant look that was calculating as well as determined. A slightly build hid quick reflexes and an able body. He was about the same age as the other pilots of the ship, but he seemed to be more experienced than the others altogether.

"So, you're Heero Yuy?" President Hilson questioned.

"Yes, ma'am." He replied. She noted that his response was that of an experienced military officer. But she brushed it aside. They were running on borrowed time as it was. "You do know that you _destroyed a NASA base_, right?"

He nodded, never faltering in his gaze.

"I am well aware of that. However, given the situation, the Earth Forces left me no choice. Otherwise there would have been greater casualties."

President Hilson nodded. "I see. Well, given that there was a _Cyclops_ _system_ underneath the base, I can hardly blame you for the destruction that you caused. Considering the Earth Forces were the ones who put it under the base in the first place, _they_ were the ones who caused the destruction of the base."

They could hardly disagree with her statement in the first place. The crew all knew what had forced Heero to do such a thing, and they were not about to blame him now.

"So, do you think you can give us asylum?" Mu asked.

"No."

The answer stunned everyone. "What?! Why not?!" the girl in the pilot suit demanded. "We risked it all to defend the base that was once yours!"

"That may be true, but we can't do that for one good reason: we don't have a base to station you at that would be safe from an attack." President Hilson replied.

The crew of the legged ship looked saddened by her explanation, but she knew that it was for the best. "We _do_ have something for you, considering your efforts though." She added.

Walking over to a concealed doorway, the U.S. leader then nodded as the door opened up. In one of the old hangers that barely stood, there were two machines that had been in storage in a blast-proof room.

"Three of your machines were damaged if not made irreparable, right?"

Murrue nodded. "Then these machines will be yours, as a way of saying thanks for your efforts to protect the base, even if they were futile in the end."

"The GN001 Exia and GN002 Dynames. Both were once used in the Celestial Being conflicts, but were left for scrap by the former members of said paramilitary group. The U.S. found them however, and decided to repair them, along with a third machine. The last one is still in repair however, as it was the worst off of the three."

Murrue could hardly believe it. "These are ours now?"

President Hilson nodded. "Yes. I just hope that you can use them to end this war for good. Otherwise, the decision I have made will only make things worse. But you can never really tell in the end."

The ship captain nodded, still unable to believe that the U.S. president had given them two new machines for their efforts.

* * *

_Lodonia Extended Laboratory_

A car with tinted windows approached the gates of the large facility. The car stopped at the gates and a guard approached the driver's door as the window rolled down. The driver silently handed the guard a piece of paper. The man read the paper, nodded and handed it back. "They're expecting the Director at the main building," he told the driver. "It's the large building in the center of the facility."

The gates opened and the car headed for the largest building in the facility. The car pulled off alongside the main entrance and the rear passenger door opened. A blond haired man in a powder blue suit stepped out. A lone dark haired man in a lab coat was waiting for him outside the entrance.

"Ah...Director Azrael. Welcome to Lodonia. We've been expecting you," the Head Doctor of the facility politely greeted him. "I trust that your trip was pleasant."

"Please Dr. Andras, I'm short on time, so if we could skip the pleasantries today," Muruta Arael said.

"Of course. You're here for the Biological CPU Project, correct?"

"Yes. We have four new machines to use against the Coordinators, but no suitable pilots for them," Azrael said. "I trust that you have at least four CPUs that I can use."

"We have more than four ready for combat, but I'll give the top four," Dr. Andras said. "Come. I'll show you."

Dr. Andras lead Azrael through the hallways of the facility, passing rooms of children, some as young as six, being taught to become trained killers. There were even rooms with doctors preforming terrible operations on children by breaking their minds and bodies, and then remaking them into weapons. Most people would be horrified to see such things, but men like Azrael didn't see it that way. He saw it as merely the production of newer and better weapons to use against mankind's greatest and most hated enemy, the Coordinators. Men like Dr. Andras and most of those that worked here only saw an opportunity to improve human genetic enhancements or to create a super soldier.

"The Biological CPUs have all been subjected to some biotechnological modifications to enhance their abilities to levels on par with a Coordinator. We've given them extensive mental conditioning by removing their memories of their past and other things that would prove to be a distraction in combat, as well as their sense of fear, while increasing their aggression,"Andras explained as they walked through the corridors.

"Unfortunately, the increased aggression also makes them harder to control. But we've solved that problem. We've begun giving them the performance enhancing drug, Gamma Glipheptin. While the drug boosts their already formidable combat abilities, it has some negative effects on the CPUs. Most notably, the withdrawal effects that occur once the drug has run out of their systems and the damage it does to their nervous systems, but the addictiveness of the drug is what will keep them in line. They're not perfect, but they're definitely combat ready. We're hoping in a few years for one of the two next generations to be ready for use."

"The next two generations have been approved? I've never heard anything about that. Who approved it?" Azrael asked.

"Djibril. He felt that it was necessary to prepare for all possible outcomes for this war as well as its aftermath should we win the war."

"Djibril," Azrael said in annoyance.

Djibril was always trying to interfere with his plans. He was the second most powerful man in LOGOS and Blue Cosmos behind Azrael himself. Azrael hated the viper of a man. Djibril was always plotting and scheming of his own plans and ambitions. There were those that considered him evil, but Djibril was much worse than he was. He simply wished to remove the threat of the Coordinators whether eliminating them all or just caging them and using them for the benefit of the true humans: the Naturals. Djibril wanted to wipe out the Coordinators and build a world empire with LOGOS as the secret leaders of Earth. Azrael didn't really want that, after all, he was the Director of the Atlantic National Defense Conglomerate. He made money off of war. Where was the profit for him if there was only one nation on Earth and no Coordinators to fight?

"You see, with the success of the Biological CPUs, we've become divided over how to improve on them. Some have come up with a true second generation of Extended, while I and my supporters have come up with the EX-C Project or the Extended Gamma Project as some call them which will generate greater soldiers than whatever they come up with."

"Hmm... I've read the report you sent about the EX-C Project and I have to say you may have a point there doctor, but the materials you need won't be easy to come up with."

"I mentioned this to Djibril. He said not to worry. He would see to that we would get all of the materials we need for the project."

The two entered Andras's office. Dr. Andras sat down and began typing on his computer. A minute later, he stood up. "These are the files of four best, combat ready prototypes," the doctor said, gesturing for Azrael to take his seat.

The files on the four CPUs were displayed on the screen before them. "Shani Andras... I see you're truly dedicated to the work here, Doctor," Azrael said as he skimmed his file.

"Indeed. I found a use for my useless son," Doctor Andras proudly said. "For years, I never thought he would never amount to anything but he's finally proven me wrong."

Azrael nodded and resumed reading. "Clotho Buer... arrested for petty theft and rape..." Azrael chuckled. "I'm surprised that, considering the victim, you managed to get him."

"Mr. Lorne said 'Use him as a guinea pig, make him into something useful. Or kill him. I don't care, so long as he never comes near my daughter again.' So I put him in the program."

"Martin Nightingale…'found' on the streets at age 11…no parents…very interesting..."

Andras smirked. "He's one of my favorites. He arrived here not long after being found. He was completely quiet and emotionless when he arrived. Now... Well... Let's just say he's much more interesting. And the drugs seem to work longer for him, which makes him a prized subject."

"Orga Sabnak... arrested by the military as part of a group of smugglers selling military hardware to the black market and the enemy... during the arrest, he managed to destroy two tanks single-handedly with an RPG... Hmm... They're all quite impressive."

"We've been putting them in simulators where they pilot those prototypes from Heliopolis against high numbers of ZAFT mobile suits and situations that most pilots would find unsurvivable. And every simulation ended in victory for them. We can put them through another simulation for you if you like."

"No. I'll take them," Azrael said. "How long will it be to get them ready?"

"A few days to prepare the team of doctors for their maintenance and the drugs."

Azrael nodded. "The new mobile suits will require another two weeks at most before they're ready. If I send you the data on the machines, could you use the simulators to train them in using the new machines?"

"Of course," Andras said. "We can have them start tomorrow afternoon if we get the data today."

Azrael grinned. "Good. I'll have the data sent to you at once. I want them ready to pilot those machines by the time they're completed."

* * *

_The Next Day_

Four teenagers sat in the chairs of the waiting room. One teen, listening to an MP3 player, had long, messy, pale green hair that covered much of the left side of his face, leaving only his purple, right eye in sight. Shani Andras didn't care, however. The doctors had told him that his left eye was ugly, deformed, and hideous. And it was. Shani knew that. It needed to be covered up from the world, its ugliness hidden. He had once strangled a fellow test subject to death when she had mocked his deformed eye.

Near him sat Orga Sabnak reading a book. He had light blue eyes and slicked back olive green hair. Like the others, his hair and eye color had changed from what had been done to them. Out of the four of them, he was considered the most mentally stable and the closest thing to squad leader among the four. Of course, he was just as prone to firing on his teammates as the rest of them were.

Next to him, Martin Nightingale, sat, his blue eyes locked on the small book he was writing in. The gray haired teen was territorial over his notebook to the extreme. A couple of orderlies tried to take it from him once. Big mistake. One left with a broken nose. Another was left with a broken hand and Martin had bit the ear off the third before they managed to restrain him. After that, no one tried to take it from him again. While he was quiet outside of combat, he became more like a child in combat, which was a result of a hidden desire that he never shared with anyone.

The last one, with bright red hair, was Clotho Buer. He was playing his handheld video game. The game's sounds were the only sounds in the room. He was the loudest of them, often shouting out cries of battle from the video games he played and was more prone to picking fights with others than the rest of them, though not as much when compared with Martin.

A group of orderlies entered the room, led by a blond haired woman. "It's time for another simulation," the woman said.

The four Biological CPUs stopped what they were doing and stood up. They didn't like this woman. She was supposedly the mother of that snot-nosed brat, Auel. They all hated most of those little brats that were to be their successors. Of course, they didn't really care for each other either or anyone from this facility for that matter.

The orderlies led them to the simulator room. The room was round with four simulators evenly spaced along the walls. There was an observation room in balcony overlooking the room. A nurse carrying a tray with four small vials of Gamma Glipheptin entered the room. The Head Doctor stood in the observation room. They all hated that prick above all others. All of the subjects of the program hated him. Any of them would give anything to skin the man alive.

"Hello boys," the Doctor said with that sickening smirk of his. "We have something new for you today. Same old simulation, but brand new mobile suits, mobile suits that, in two weeks, you'll be piloting in real combat, should you all perform better than you have been, that is. If not, then you will never, ever leave this facility."

This caught their attention. All of them hated this hellhole. A chance to escape from here, even for a little while, was definitely desired by all of them. And that wasn't including the fun of real combat. The four Biological CPUs grinned. They were gonna prove that were ready for real combat even if they had to go through a hundred of these simulations.

"Now, take your meds so we can begin."

The four each took a vial. Martin downed the contents of the small bottle as the others did the same. A slight shudder shot up his spine as the drug entered his system while a grin spread across his face. He hated and loved this drug. The rush, the euphoria, the feeling that you could take on the whole world and crush it beneath your heel was a wonderful feeling. The withdrawal, however, was a bitch, but who cared about that now? Now was the time to have fun.

"Choose your machines," the Doctor ordered.

One by one, each of them sat down at a simulator. The machines came to life displaying the schematics of the GAT-X151 Massacre. Martin gripped the controls as a childish grin spread across his face. The simulation started as dozens of GINNs appeared on the screen as did the GAT-X252 Forbidden, the GAT-X370 Raider and the GAT-X131 Calamity. The GINNs advanced on them, firing out their rifles. Martin snickered as he brought the Massacre's Fenrir twin Gatling guns to bare on the GINNs. "Time to die pests!" Martin roared, firing on the GINNs.

"Hey! Don't hog all the fun!" Orga said as he fired the Calamity's shoulder cannons at the GINNs.

"Annihilate!" Clotho shouted as rounds from the Raider's railguns tore through some of the GINNs.

The Forbidden's plasma induction cannon fired and a beam streaked through a horde of GINNs. Halfway through, the beam curved, destroying more mobile suits as Shani snickered. Clotho threw his spherical breaker. The heavy metal ball tore through a GINN, tearing its head off and slamming into a GINN behind it. Orga let loose with all of the Calamity's guns, its overwhelming firepower destroying whole groups of GINNs. The Massacre's chest opened up, revealing two more Gatling guns. Beams and bullets rained from the six guns shredding GINNs like there was no tomorrow. Shani charged the advancing GINNs, his Nidhoggr scythe raised. He sliced through a pair of GINNs directly in front of him. "Move!" Martin screamed, firing the Massacre's Ragnarok beam cannon the Forbidden.

The Forbidden spun around, it's Geschmeidig Panzer energy deflector sliding over its head. The beam struck the shields and was deflected to the left, piercing a GINN. Shani laughed as the deflector returned to its original position. Martin growled in disappointment, but quickly turned his attention back to the GINNs. It didn't take long for all the GINNs to be destroyed. "Come on!" Martin roared. "Bring us more targets!"

"Yeah!" Clotho shouted.

Dr. Andras chuckled. "Don't worry. More opponents are coming."

He turned to the technician manning the simulator control console. "Impressive. They beat their best time by almost a full minute," he said. "You heard him. Double the number of mobile suits and throw in some BuCUEs and DINNs as well."

"Yes Doctor."

"And increase the AI's intelligence. We need to test their full capabilities in these new machines."

* * *

_Onogoro Island_

The _Archangel_ sailed into the very same hidden port they had been in the last time they were here later that same day. And just like the last time, the ship was badly damaged, though not quite as bad as it was then. As the _Archangel_ docked with the port, Cagalli ran through the corridors of the hidden port, heading for the _Archangel_. The door to the _Archangel_ opened. Cagalli was about to run through it when a doctor and a nurse pushing a stretcher with a wounded crew member barreled through the doorway. Cagalli stepped aside letting the more important group pass. She caught a glimpse of the person's injuries and it made her sick to think that Kira might have ended up like this as well.

Once they passed, she resumed her running until she found him. "Kira!" she shouted, embracing the teen in hug which sent them both to the ground.

"Cagalli?" a very surprised Kira said as Cagalli lay on top of him.

"You are such an idiot!" she shouted as she pounded at his chest with tears sliding down her cheeks. "You're just... You're so... I never thought I'd see you again! How could you do that to me?"

Kira took one good glance at her face and he knew she had been crying for days. She was tired and probably didn't get enough sleep. He said the only thing he could for her. "Sorry."

She stopped pounding his chest and finally looked into his violet eyes. "So... you're really alive?" Cagalli asked as though, at any moment, Kira would disappear again.

"Yeah. I'm alive. And I did come back," Kira said. "Now. Could you please get off me?"

* * *

_The Bridge_

The bridge officers of _Archangel_, as well as Mu and John, all stood as Lord Uzumi Nara Athha and his entourage entered the bridge. "I'd like to thank you for coming to our aid once again sir," Murrue said.

"Given the circumstances, I'm sure you understand that we can't officially welcome you and your crew to ORB. But in any case, you'll finally be able to get some rest," Uzumi replied.

Murrue nodded. "Thank you."

Uzumi glanced around at the group, noting their weary expressions and defeated looks. "With the destruction of the Earth Alliance Headquarters, the world is once again drifting in a new direction," he told them. "Once you've rested up, I'll update you with the latest news. You'll see for yourselves. I'm sure it will provide you with more than enough food for thought. You might even question why you wear that uniform in the first place."

* * *

_ORB Military HQ_

_A Few Hours Later_

Lord Uzumi, General Dante, Cagalli and Ledonir Kisaka listened quietly as Kira, Mu and Murrue took turns explaining what had happened to them. Chris, John, Liz, Nisha, Heero and the _Archangel_'s bridge officers were there as well.

"A Cyclops System? But even if the details of ZAFT's invasion plan had been leaked, that seems like a rather harsh course of action." Uzumi Nara Athha was visibly disturbed by what had happened at Alaska.

"But you have to admit, from a strategic stand point, it was a tremendous victory. They nearly destroyed eighty percent of ZAFT's forces in the operation in exchange for the loss of a smaller, undesirable force. To any military strategist or leader, that's definitely a worthwhile sacrifice," Samuel Dante said.

"And here's the result." Uzumi pushed a button on the TV remote.

Images of the ruins of JOSH-A appeared on the screen. "_To the last soldier, our defense forces fought heroically. The near destruction of JOSH-A and the sorrow that accompanied that loss shall be forever be marked in history as a day of infamy."_ Images of the wounded survivors of the battle appeared. "_But despite this loss, we shall never submit to them. What right do the Coordinators have to threaten the security of our skies? The sacrifice that was made was immense; however, we must overcome this great loss and confront our enemies wherever we may find them."_ The image changed to that of anti-Coordinator rallies and marching Earth Alliance soldiers. "_We must gather our strength and fight against the arrogant Coordinators to ensure the freedom and security of the people of Earth! To ensure the preservation of our blue and pure world!"_

"God. I hate that line," Chris blurted out as Lord Uzumi turned off the TV. "How the hell is killing Coordinators going to make the world blue and pure? It's nothing but bullshit."

"I understand why it's happened, but it's sure tough to swallow," Mu said with a sigh.

"To go along with the tone of its rhetoric, the Advanced European Union has been increasing its political pressure on all of the neutral nations. They're being told that any nation that doesn't join the Alliance will be considered an enemy nation," Athha informed them. "Of course, ORB is no exception to this. However, NASA might be, considering their main member nation."

"They just want to get their hands on ORB's power," an angry Cagalli added.

"I'm sure you're all aware of this, but ORB does not refuse entry to Coordinators. We're one of the few countries that allow anyone to enter and reside within our boarders as long as they honor the ideals and laws of ORB. We believe that no one should be judged on whether or not his or hers genes have be engineered. The only thing that labeling someone a Natural or a Coordinator does is create friction between people." Uzumi turned to Kira and his daughter. "Cagalli is a Natural, while Kira is a Coordinator. These are facts they have absolutely no control over. I cannot support the policies of the Advanced European Union, because it labels every Coordinator as an enemy and evil, insisting on attacking them for that bias reason. Who is really fighting who here? And what is the real reason behind it?"

"But sir. I understand the point of what you're saying. And excuse me for saying this, but isn't your position a little... idealistic?" Mu asked. "Those sound like wonderful ideas, but Coordinators will continue to look down on Naturals who, in turn, will be jealous of Coordinators. That's just the way things are."

Lord Uzumi nodded and stood up. "I am aware of that," he said, walking away from the table. "It goes without saying; our nation has difficulty living up to this. But if we gave up on trying to improve the situation, in the end, we'd be left with no other choice but to eliminate each other. At that point, it'd be too late to do anything but reflect and regret what had passed. What NASA has discovered though, is that the Naturals are behind this due to their feelings, as some are jealous, and that in turn becomes hatred if not taken care of right away. The Coordinators pick up on this, and begin to feel superior to improve their self-esteem. Thus, the cycle continues."

Uzumi stopped and turned to the group. "My friends, you wouldn't be suggesting that we keep silent and let this happen, would you? Because that's what the rest of the world is doing. From this point, you can choose your own course in life. I can understand if you still feel loyalty to the Earth Alliance, but you're all young and capable. Make you decisions carefully. And be sure to choose the future you truly desire."

"What's your view on this, Lord Uzumi?" Kira asked.

The former Chief Representative of ORB approached the former Earth Alliance Ensign. "I believe we are entering a time when our swords can no longer be held simply for display," he solemnly replied.

* * *

_Morgenroete_

_Later That Day_

The Exia, the Dynames, the Freedom, the Surge, the Buster, the Z.A.M. Gundam, and a jeep entered the hanger. Erica Simmons stepped out of the vehicle. "Park them on that side of the hanger!" she shouted, waving towards the left side of hanger. The three mobile suits lined up on the left side of the hanger and powered down. Chris, Liz and John exited the machines. "So why did you ask us all here, Chief Simmons?" Mu asked as he, Kira and Cagalli climbed out of the jeep. "I understand that you wanted to upgrade the Raven and the Z.A.M. Gundam as well as tune up the machines we recaptured, but why are Kira and I here? And considering that the Raven is now destroyed, what should I pilot?"

"I have some things to show you before we start work on the other three machines," Erica said as Chris, Liz and John joined the rest of the group. "Follow me."

A few minutes later, the group found themselves approaching another hanger. "You know we've been quite busy since you were all last here," Erica said as they approached the doors to the hanger. "We haven't just been outfitting the Astrays with the Natural OS."

She opened the doors and they all entered the hanger. Greeting them was a single mobile suit. It was familiar to them all. The mobile suit was the Strike completely repaired and restored. In fact, it looked as new as the day Kira first entered the cockpit.

"Of course, you already know the Strike. We recovered it after your last battle in it. The damage to it looked worse than it actually was, though because we didn't know what happened to you, we replaced the OS with one for Naturals but we can switch it if you like."

Kira looked up at his old mobile suit. "No," he said. "I have a new mobile suit now."

"Then I'll pilot it," Cagalli called out instantly. "If that's okay with you Kira."

"No," Mu interrupted.

"What? Why?"

"Because I'm piloting it," Mu replied.

"Hold on there. We still have two more surprises for you all," Erica said, walking around the mobile suits.

Behind the machine were two more mobile suits lying on the ground and being worked on by Morgenroete crews. The first was a second Strike unit with a few minor differences over the original. Notably, holsters for the knives stored in the forearms. A group of crew members appeared to be struggling to load one of the knives into a holster. "Come on! What's taking so long?" Johanna Dante shouted from on top of its chest. "Why haven't you gotten that knife loaded into the forearm yet? That was supposed to be done half an hour ago!"

Crews scrambled to get the knife in question loaded into the forearm holder. Johanna climbed off the mobile suit's chest as the group approached. "Hi. Showing them the new machines?"

Erica nodded. "Well then," Johanna began, turning to the rest of the group, "you can consider this the Strike 2.0. It has an improved battery and the improved Phase Shift Armor, but big difference is that it's equipped with what we call the Camo Shift Armor System: an alternative to Mirage Colloid System. Unlike the MC system, this system can be used for as long as there is power for the Phase Shift, but as its name implies, it doesn't provide complete visual invisibility. The system adjusts the color of the Phase Shift to blend in with its surroundings and makes it invisible to radar and sensors. When the suit is stationary and the system is activated, it's next to impossible to detect unless the enemy is right on top of it. And the defensive power of the Phase Shift Armor System remains active during this time, protecting it. It's an effective system for stealth and sniper units. However, movement does reduce the effectiveness of it as it can't adjust quickly to sudden changes in its surroundings."

"Do you have a pilot for it yet?" John asked.

"No. It's still a few days from being completed."

"Then if you'll let me, I'll take it. I need a new mount."

Johanna smiled and nodded. "Then we'll have to mount this one with the Sniper Aile Striker for you."

"The next machine should be familiar to you all. It was in even worse shape than the Strike. In fact, what we recovered wasn't enough to restore it. So we took what was left and used it as the core of a new machine," Erica said, directing them to the second machine. "We call it the Neo Blitz."

The machine before them was far from complete. Only its head, torso and right leg seemed to be complete. At the moment, the crews were attaching the left leg to the machine but it was the Blitz.

"When it's complete, it will have the improved Phase Shift Armor as well as its Mirage Colloid stealth system. That Mirage Colloid is certainly an interesting system. We've been experiment with it and we're hoping that the Neo Blitz will serve as a test-bed for some of those experimental systems," Erica explained. "Of course, it won't be defenseless. We are planning on equipping it with weapons similar to what the original once had."

"An impressive assortment of machines," Chris whistled. "So what are you going to do with them?"

"Depends on what happens next," Samuel Dante said as he approached the group. "The Astrays will be protectors of ORB. As for both Strike units, I see no reason that you can't have them if you want them. I can do the same with the Neo Blitz, if Miss Simmons here is willing to part with it. It technically belongs with the _Archangel_ alongside the Z.A.M. Gundam, the Strike and those two machines you recaptured. As well as the new machines you received from NASA."

"You're just going to give us these machines?" Mu asked.

"Yes. Lord Uzumi himself said to give these machines to you," Samuel said. "He said that if you're going to try to end this war, then you're going to need the strength of these machines to do it. Personally, I agree with him. You're going to need more than just the seven machines aboard the _Archangel_."

"Yeah, but we only have six pilots," Mu said.

"For now, but one never knows what tomorrow might bring. Just because you have only six pilots, doesn't mean that you will always have six pilots." General Dante turned to the two machines under construction. "That is one thing I have learned in life. Things can change in an instant."

* * *

_New Juneau_

Akira looked out the small cell, wondering when he would be released. It seemed like he had been there forever.

The door to his cell swung open, revealing the guard who had been watching over him the last few days.

"The commander of NAZAFT wishes to speak with you." He said as the ZAFT pilot stood up.

Aki' could only wonder what awaited him as he walked out of the cell with the guard behind him to make sure he did not try anything funny. The two made their way to the colony commander's office, the door sliding shut as soon as Aki' walked inside.

Now alone with the commander, the young pilot could only look around before a female voice spoke to him.

"Are you the ZAFT pilot who used the Wing?"

Aki' whirled around, only to see a woman with white hair and blue eyes staring back at him. She appeared to be a Coordinator, which she was, considering her young age, only in her thirties.

The outfit she wore was black with the admiral rank badges on the left side of her chest where the flag patch would be. It was complemented by white boots that stood out against her black pants. Even the commander's hat was black, but it had on it the U.S. flag instead of the PLANT symbol.

"Yes, I am…" Aki' replied, his tone nervous.

The woman just laughed. "There is no need to be nervous here."

Becoming serious again, she placed her hands underneath her chin. "Are you aware of what happened to your sister?"

That made Aki's blood run cold. Hardened eyes glared at her, but she was not even fazed by it, or so it seemed. While the NAZAFT commander did not show it, she was shivering deep down.

"So? What does that have to do with anything?!" Aki' snarled.

"Everything."

That caused him to stop in his tracks. It had _everything_ to do with this?

"What do you mean?"

The NAZAFT commander leaned back in her chair. "You see, there is a reason ZAFT did not try to get you justice. That day, when it made headlines, a ZAFT investigation into the attack revealed something very surprising. A ZAFT officer had ordered your sister killed. But that information did not get released, and so, no one could be charged. ZAFT covered it up."

Aki' stared in shock as he listened to her words. _ZAFT_ had covered up his sister's murder?!

"And it does not stop there. You see, NASA found out it was ZAFT commander Rau Le Creuset that ordered her dead. And for a good reason: she was researching cloning. Still, things got worse from then on out. Now, ZAFT has now declared anyone captured by NAZAFT to be a traitor that needs to be killed. And you are one such person."

He nodded, already aware of that.

"I am offering you a chance to leave ZAFT and stay alive. Defect and all of your ZAFT files will be transferred over to us. We will make you a NAZAFT officer, which will grant you the immunity from being killed for being captured by us. If you choose not to though, then your fate is sealed. It is up to you on what you want to do. We will not force you to choose something you do not wish to do." The NAZAFT commander replied.

Aki' looked down, deep in thought. All of the information was new to him, but he was not going to make a decision because he felt he had to.

"All I have to do is…leave ZAFT?" he asked. The commander nodded.

"Yes, as well as renounce your citizenship of the PLANTs. This way, if you are just a plain American citizen, you will be unable to be tried for your 'supposed' "war crimes". The PLANTs do not have the authority to try American citizens who are Coordinators on the grounds of betraying their 'homeland' if they were never a citizen in the first place."

Aki' looked down before placing a hand on his head and closing his eyes. Betraying ZAFT, even when the ones who had caused his sister's death were still free seemed like a bad idea, but at the same time, he had just been told that ZAFT had _hidden_ these details from him and his family. Not to mention, he was already considered a traitor to the Coordinator 'homeland' for being captured by NAZAFT.

"How can I do that? The ones responsible have not been caught yet, or even arrested by anyone!" he snarled, facing the NAZAFT commander. She did not show much emotion, but he could tell that she was more than ready to explain to him why his betrayal was in his best interest. But what she said next caught him by surprise.

"And you believe that ZAFT winning the war will allow your family to get the justice that they were denied all those years ago?"

Aki' was taken aback by the question. "What? No! It's not that at all!"

The NAZAFT commander just folded her arms. "Then what is it?"

"It's just…they were never even arrested for the crime…"

She nodded once. "I see. What if I told you that _NASA_ can get you the justice your family deserves?"

The ZAFT pilot looked in her direction in shock. "Wh-what?!"

"We can, and _will_, get justice for your family. Given what happened, it does not matter if she was a citizen of the PLANTs. She was also an American citizen, which means that ZAFT failed in not just finding her killer, they also failed in getting justice for an American citizen killed abroad."

Aki' could only stare at the woman in disbelief. And yet, at the exact same time, he somehow _knew_ that NASA would deliver on their promise. It was not like the United States to give up on its citizens, and they would see it through to the end.

"I…need some time to think." He replied.

"Very well then. I expect your response in a week's time." The commander said as Aki' was led away from the room.

Still, she had a feeling that he would join sooner or later. But as to when, that was up to him.

* * *

_7th Fleet_

The famed ZAFT fleet entered the atmosphere above the location of Panama. It was time for them to show the Earth Forces just how bad an idea it was to try and use the Cyclops system, and on a NASA base no less…

* * *

The _Archangel_ heads back to ORB after receiving new machines from the President of the United States as new foes begin to come out of hiding while Akira tries to determine what he should do. So what will happen now? Read on to find out~! :3

Any flames _**will**_ be reported and/or deleted. Constructive criticism is appreciated as well. Be sure to read and review when you're done reading. :)


	24. Phase 23: Divine Thunder

Phase Twenty-Three: Divine Thunder

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. Nor do I own Martin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**Titanic X: Yep!**

**CT7567Rules: Okay, first off, that would be interesting if I had already done that. XD Second, you will see~! ;3 Third, trust me, he will. XD Fourth, I think it would be Gary Chalk as well. :3 Fifth, you will see~! Sixth, I will see. :) And seventh, you will see what plane is the NASA aerial MS... ;)**

**GI SCOE: No, Kyrios does not make an appearance, and I may do the upgrades, I may not. We will see this time around. :P**

**Vcg: I have said this before and I will say it again, I update once a week, but this time I am making an exception for my readers in regards to what is going on lately. I will update twice this weekend, and will see about doing the same next weekend. But it is normally once a week.**

**A0930: I am glad you liked this last chapter, so I know you will like this one~! As for Sutherland, well, when this war is over, he will get justice by Marie's hands. XD Just wait until then~! :3 And all questions will be answered over time in the fic, so just keep reading and enjoy~! :3**

**Mars309 Roci: Glad you think it flows better this time. :) And as for Wu, well, that will be changed when we get to the chapter where Athrun confronts him. :)**

**gagasgumilang208: You would be right~! As for the Trans-Am thing, yes they will have it. As for adding a booster, that is not an option for now. It may be an upgrade down the road, but we will see. And yes, the other four will help the Astray team. :) Specs will be in the new arc when I start it. :)**

**Just A Crazy Man: Thanks!**

**KentLinuxStadfelt: Trans-Am is locked for now, but it **will** be used soon. :)**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those with an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are.**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

_Aboard the _Cousteau

_Several Days Later_

"Panama... I think HQ is asking too much of us this time," the _Cousteau_'s Captain said, his tone weary. "We just don't have the forces."

"We really don't have any other choice," Rau told him. "The Chairman has ordered us to disrupt the momentum the Earth Forces gained from Alaska before the homeland becomes threatened. We need to close the door to space by trapping them here on Earth. That's why it's imperative that we destroy Panama's Mass Driver."

"What of the Gungnirs?" the Captain asked.

"They'll arrive on schedule," Rau replied.

"Gungnirs...I've heard some of the officers and pilots complaining about relying on something that's never been used in combat before to win the battle. But the real problem's on our side. Will we even be able to capture the target points in time?"

"Our soldiers have sworn to extract harsh vengeance for Alaska. We will succeed," Le Creuset said before leaving the bridge.

* * *

_Rau's Quarters_

Flay sat in a chair. Ever since that man had kidnapped her at Alaska, she had been locked in his quarters. She hadn't showered in days, nor was she given clean clothes. In fact, she still had the handgun from Alaska.

Flay hated the man and this whole situation she was in. She was trapped on a ZAFT vessel. There was no way for her escape or for her to contact the _Archangel_ or the Earth Forces. She didn't even know where Chris and the _Archangel_ were after what happened at Alaska. She supposed that she should be thankful to the man for saving her life. Had he not kidnapped her, she likely would have died in the destruction of the base. But he was still a creep. What she hated the most about him was that his voice sounded almost exactly like her father's. Several times already, she reminded herself that her father was dead and this man was not her father.

The door suddenly opened and Flay stood up pointing the gun at Rau as he entered the room. He completely ignored her and sat down at his desk. "A battle is about to begin. Would you like to observe?" he asked reading from a personal computer. "I'm sorry for dragging you all over the place, but orders are orders so it can't be helped."

"But why... Why did you take me?" Flay wanted to know.

Rau let out a quiet snicker. "You're already living on borrowed time, aren't you, Flay Alster? Back at Alaska, you have been equally dead whether I had shot at you or let you run off."

Flay kept her gun on him, her hands trembling slightly. An amused smirk crossed Creuset's lips. "And you'd die within moments if you were to shoot me now. The soldiers on board would hear the gunshot and come running. Or if you didn't want them to finish you off, I suppose you could turn the gun on yourself after you kill me," he said. "I assume, of course, the gun is loaded."

He stood up and walked towards her. "On the battlefield, life is cheap. It's lost in an instant. And yet, people still fight and die for their country, for justice, or for whatever other insignificant reason. But you're not really cut out for that sort of the thing, are you, Flay Allster?" he said as he walked past her. "You may be wearing that uniform, but you're no soldier."

He stopped and turned around. "You're nothing but a scared, helpless little girl caught up in events far greater than what you can comprehend."

She had enough of this creep. She may not be soldier and she may be scared, but she wasn't a helpless little girl. Flay spun around and punched Rau square in the face. He stumbled back a few steps, blood leaking from his nose. That bitch! How dare she strike him! Rau slapped her with one hand as his other hand ripped the gun from her hands. He turned the gun on her. Time seemed to slow to a crawl for Flay. Her entire life flashed before her eyes as Creuset squeezed the trigger...

There was a click and trigger refused to move but nothing else happened. Rau glanced down at the gun. The girl had forgotten to flick the safety off. Rau started to laugh. "You're lucky, Flay Allster. If you hadn't forgotten to turn the safety off, you'd be dead by now," he said lowering the gun. "You may not be a soldier, but I won't think of you as a scared, helpless little girl again."

Creuset turned and headed for the door. The door opened and he stopped for a moment. "Oh. And don't think that I won't punish you for that," he said, an evil smirk forming on his lips. "I'm too busy at the moment. So your _punishment_ will be later on tonight."

* * *

_ZAFT Fleet_

_In Earth Orbit_

ZAFT mobile suits were launched from the warships. They moved towards the dropships and their drop pods. A purple CGUE entered a pod with a trio of colored GINN High Maneuver Types. Five Laurasia class warships, modified to launch Gungnirs, waited alongside the dropships.

"Gungnirs... Bah! Things like those take all the fun out of being a soldier." Ajay complained as they waited for the Operation to begin.

_"Hey, it does not help that we can't use our own ships for this."_ Tao replied as she also sat in a pod, despite the Diver's ability to enter the atmosphere on its own.

Diana ignored him. "Listen up. Our job is to secure landing sites for the Gungnirs. Once they're cleared, the Gungnirs will be launched. Once they've been fired off, this battle will end."

"Attention all forces, prepare for space drop," the dropship's combat coordinator said. "In ten...nine...eight...seven...six...five...four...three...two...one."

There was a shudder as the pod was launched. The pod started its descent towards the atmosphere alongside dozens of other pods. "YEEEEEEE-HAW!" Ajay shouted as entered they entered the atmosphere.

A few minutes later, the pods finished their atmospheric entry. The pods streaked through the air heading for the Port Panama Base and its Mass Driver. Elsewhere, DINNs, Guul mounted GINNs, ZnOs, GOOhNs and the Duel were launched from the sub carriers.

Port Panama's defenders scrambled as the ZAFT forces approached the base. The drop pods opened, releasing their mobile suits. Fighters were scrambled to intercept the mobile suits as anti-air turrets power up. Diana fired her newly acquired beam rifle at a trio of approaching fighters as other ZAFT mobile suits opened fire as well. From the sea, airborne and amphibious mobile suits attacked, hitting naval warships and beach defenses.

The space-borne mobile suits slowed their descent. Those that weren't shot down by the defenders, landed safely on the ground and continued to engage the Earth Forces. Basque Gideon fired off his Barrus heavy particle cannon and Gatling guns at a group of gun emplacements on the side of a mountain. DINNs and Guul mounted GINNs chased down the Earth Forces' fighters, blowing them out of the sky. ZnOs emerged from the waters around Panama, attacking the coastal defenses and installations of the Port Panama Base, the Diver leading the charge. Tanks and gun emplacements roared, their shells striking some of the attacking mobile suits. The ZAFT forces were heavily outnumbered. But as always, their mobile suits were far superior to what the Earth Forces could bring to bear.

* * *

_Archangel's Bridge_

_Onogoro Island_

"How are the repairs coming along?" Murrue asked as she sat down in the Captain's chair.

The bridge officers, Mu, John and Chief Murdoch, were there with her.

"Both the ORB crews and my guys have gotten a fair amount of the repairs done," Murdoch informed the captain. "A few more days and we'll be done and ready to go."

"Then what?" John asked as he held a cup of coffee in his hand. "Kira said we should fight to end the war but how do we go about doing that? Should we go into space and link up with the pink princess and my comrades? Or should we stay on Earth and do something here?"

Murrue sighed. That was a very good question. Who should they be fighting? ZAFT and the PLANTs? The Earth Forces? Everything had become so complicated now. "Were you able to reach your contacts in the PLANTs?" she asked, hoping he could shed some light on things.

"Yes and no. I got in touch with the middlemen that pass the messages between us, but they were unable to reach my contacts. So I don't know what's been happening in the PLANTs since Alaska."

"Captain!" Chandra said. "We're being contacted by the ORB Military HQ."

"Open a channel."

General Dante's face appeared on the main screen. _"ZAFT has launched an attack on Panama."_ he announced.

Everyone was stunned by this. "What? So soon? They can't possibly have enough strength after JOSH-A to launch such an attack." Murrue said.

"Don't underestimate them," John said. "They wouldn't attack unless they had a means to win the battle. There's a good possibility that Panama will fall."

"A ZAFT weapon that hasn't been used before?" Mu asked.

"Likely. Though I don't know what it could be. If it was a new mass production mobile suit, they would have used it at JOSH-A, so it couldn't be that. As to other weapons, I know that they were working an EMP weapon early in the war but they took time to deploy on the battlefield and it could only be used once, maybe twice, before the Earth Forces would upgrade their EMP shielding. The military deemed it unfeasible as a weapon to turn the tide of the war and, as far as I know, scrapped the project. But they could have reopened the project after I've left or simply used what they created before the project for this one battle," John explained. "Of course, they could have some other new weapon as well. So the question is, if they do loose Panama, what will the Earth Forces do after that, especially with their new attitude after Alaska?"

Everyone was silent before Mu laughed suddenly. Everyone looked at him like he was crazy as the laughter subsided. "I'm surprised you guys didn't consider another factor in this whole war."

Murrue then realized what he meant. "Ah! He means NASA!"

John looked to her. "NASA may be an unknown factor, but even they cannot prevent an attack on Panama."

Mu just smirked. "Who said anything about _preventing_ an attack there? If anything, they will _not_ provide aid to the Earth Forces. After all, that base that was just lost? It was _their_ base that they had leased to the Earth Alliance. And what did the EA do in return? They tried to use the _Cyclops system_ on them to wipe out the base. So if they are asked to provide firepower, NASA has the right to say no."

Murdoch looked confused as he glanced at Mu. "So, what are you saying? Are you saying that NASA will help _ZAFT_?"

"No. They will no doubt hold back to see how ZAFT will react. If ZAFT reacts in a normal manner, i.e. they capture Panama without killing defenseless captives, then NASA will continue to help them out. But, if ZAFT reacts in a brutal manner, then they will cut all ties with ZAFT as an ally." Mu explained.

John looked at Mu in shock. Being from ZAFT formerly, he knew just how vital NASA's aid was in protecting the colonies. "Are you kidding me?!"

"No, I am not. If you take into account their history, they have always supported human rights, but not without their own violations in the process. That last part aside, what I am saying is that the _United States_ is a member of NASA, and a highly respected one at that in the human rights field. If ZAFT violates _any_ human rights, then the alliance _will_ cut ties, even if the PLANTs are dependent on their protection." Mu replied.

John just slumped down into a chair, stunned at what he was hearing. And even then, it was uncertain the direction that NASA would take.

* * *

_ZAFT Fleet_

"Sir, the landing sites have been secured."

Admiral Darlian nodded. "Then launch the Gungnirs!" he ordered. "It's time to finish this."

The bottoms of the modified Laurasia class warships opened. Five large pods were deployed from the ships heading for Panama.

* * *

_Port Panama_

Diana fired at the advancing tanks. They were no match for her mobile suit. It was pitifully easy. There was just no point to it. Until the day the Earth Forces could field armies of mobile suits on the battlefield, they never stood a chance against them.

Diana looked up in time to see five pods descending on the battlefield. The Gungnirs had arrived, which means the battle would end soon. Suddenly, a beam struck a nearby GINN, destroying it. A blue and white mobile suit appeared, armed with a beam rifle and red shield.

_"What the... Is that the Strike?"_ a GINN pilot asked.

"No. It's a different mobile suit," Diana said firing at the mobile suit.

Beams from the CGUE's beam rifle tore through the machine's chest destroying it, but more Strike Daggers appeared. _"You won't have things so easy from now on,"_ one Strike Dagger pilot said.

_"All you Coordinators are just a little too cocky,"_ another pilot added. _"I think it's time to take you down a peg."_

"At last. Opponents worth fighting. No more pitiful mobile armors, tanks and fighters," Diana said with a smirk on her lips. "Attention all forces! Incoming Earth Forces mobile suits!"

_"Well, I'll be damned,"_ Ajay said over the radio. Though to Diana, it sounded more like "It's about damn time!" than anything else. _"Mass production Earth Force's mobile suits. I thought this was gonna be a dull mission."_

"Cut the chatter," Diana said as she fired upon the advancing Strike Daggers.

Her beams tore through three mobile suits as other ZAFT mobile suits took another four machines. The Strike Daggers fired back, destroying two DINNs and a GINN while Diana sidestepped several shots and threw her shield at a Dagger. Her shield hit its mark cutting into a Strike Dagger's chest.

_"Gah! Dammit! Sir! There's too many of them!" _A GINN pilot said as he struggled to stay alive. _"We have to fall back!"_

"No!" Diana said drawing her sword with CGUE's free hand. "We have to have to drive them back so the Gungnirs can be deployed and fired! No retreat!"

Diana raced forward. Nearby members of the 11th Fleet charged forward with her while the rest of the ZAFT forces fired at the Daggers from the rear. Diana and her men fired as they headed for the enemy lines. The Strike Daggers were completely caught off guard by the charge. They had expected the ZAFT forces to be shocked by the appearance of their mobile suits and, combined with their superior numbers, would have enabled them to push the enemies back. Instead, they found themselves being charged by a group of ZAFT soldiers that wasn't fazed in the slightest by their ambush. They fired at the modified mobile suits, but with their thrusters, they were able to sidestep the worst of it. One of the GINN High Maneuver Types lost its left arm but that didn't slow it down much.

The 11th Fleet reached the Daggers. Diana sliced one Dagger in two as she fired at another. Hilda and her team smashed through a group of Strike Daggers. The red head impaled one Dagger with her sword. Mars blew away two with grenade launcher while Herbert gunned down a fourth machine. More Strike Daggers fell. The ZAFT soldiers became reinvigorated at the sight of the 11th Fleet tearing through the Strike Daggers. _"Come on boys!"_ a GINN pilot shouted. _"We can't let the Black Hawk's Fighters have all the fun!"_

The rest of the nearby ZAFT forces pushed forward, driving into the Earth Forces' line. _"Dammit! We have to regroup! Fall back!"_ an Earth Forces Captain shouted.

The Strike Daggers fled, firing as they did. But they did little against the ZAFT forces. "This is Commander Kessel," Diana said over the radio. "We've secured Site Three but I don't know for how long. These new Earth Forces mobile suits are a lot tougher than I first though. I strongly recommend that the teams protecting the Gungnirs are reinforced as soon as possible. Or we may end up losing them."

* * *

Elsewhere, more Strike Daggers appeared across the battlefield engaging the ZAFT mobile suits. Many of those ZAFT pilots were caught off guard by the Earth Forces' mobile suits. They were not use to fighting against enemy mobile suits. They were used to fighting inferior tanks, fighters and mobile armors. Added to this, the Strike Daggers were technologically superior to the GINNs and other ZAFT machines. Many GINNs and other ZAFT mobile suits were quickly torn apart by the Strike Daggers but not all of the ZAFT pilots were being overwhelmed by the new machines.

A beam tore through the cockpit of GINN. The mobile suit exploded. The Strike Dagger turned, searching for a new target when a DINN swooped down firing its rifle and shotgun. The Strike Dagger tried to raise its rifle in time, but the rifle rounds tore through the beam rifle, destroying it as the shotgun blew its head off. The mobile suit collapsed. Two nearby Strike Daggers fired at DINN as it rose up back into the air. "Whoa..." Saya said as she dodged the beams. "These Earth Forces machines are tough."

She fired off a barrage of missiles at one Strike Dagger. The missile struck its upper body, destroying the entire torso of the machine. The other Dagger fired and Saya started to dodge but she wasn't fast enough this time. A beam tore off a chunk of her left wing. Saya swore as she struggled to keep her DINN in the air. The DINN roughly landed on the ground. The Strike Dagger aimed the DINN's back. "Bye bye Coordinator," the Dagger pilot said.

Suddenly, a beam saber impaled the cockpit of the mobile suit. The Duel pulled its saber out and the Strike Dagger collapsed like a ragdoll and exploded a moment later. _"You alright?"_ Yzak asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Saya said and repeated, "But these new Earth Forces mobile suits are tough."

_"Shame their pilots aren't as tough,"_ Yzak added. _"Come on. The mission isn't over yet."_

* * *

The 7th Fleet was having a hard time with the Strike Daggers, even with their modified GINNs which contained a lot of NASA military tech. "Damn it!" Tao swore as the Diver was knocked back by a Dagger's beam saber.

"These new machines are tough!"

_"Tell me about it."_ Commander Wolfe replied as she knocked a Strike Dagger away with her machine's sword.

Heidi had, as usual, forgone her ranged weapons and was using her machine's knives to slice Daggers apart like no tomorrow. _"These things might be tough, but the pilots sure aren't skilled. Even that Heero Yuy would have no trouble against these things."_

Tao could not help but agree. Taking out the Diver's battle staff, she shoved one end into the closest Dagger, making the machine blow up while she kicked another one away. Her machine could barely stand up to such machines, even _with_ the phase-shift armor!

"These things could turn the tide of the war. And not in our favor…" she murmured as the Diver moved back from a trio of Strike Daggers.

_"What about NASA's machines? Could they stand up to these machines?"_ a DINN pilot asked.

"I wouldn't count on it." Tao murmured grimly.

* * *

A Strike Dagger impaled a GINN with its beam saber. The pilot withdrew the saber and kicked the GINN down before it exploded. Suddenly, a blade descended slicing the Dagger in two down the center. Ajay smirked as the machine exploded. "Even with fancy, new mobile suits, you guys still ain't good enough."

There was a burst of gunfire, followed by an explosion behind him. "_You're getting sloppy,"_ Lucius said as he approached his comrade. _"The mobile suit was about to shoot you from behind."_

"Nah. I already knew he was there. Just as I knew you were in the prefect position to ambush him," Ajay nonchalantly replied.

_"Don't be so cocky,"_ Lucius said. _"That arrogance will get you killed one day."_

"Bah! Come on. Loosen up a little."

* * *

A GINN loaded the final EMP caster into the Gungnir. "Right. Caster 12 is primed," the pilot said. "Now to-"

Suddenly, the last GINN covering him exploded. The pilot swore. He had to activate the Gungnir now. The GINN moved towards the Gungnir's control console. The GINN's fingers were inches from the console when a beam hit the GINN destroying it. A trio of Strike Daggers approached the Gungnir. _"Now. What the hell is this?"_ one pilot asked.

_"Probably some new weapon the Coordinators cooked up. We better destroy it to be on the-"_

A high velocity round tore the cockpit of the third Dagger. The machine fell to its knees and then exploded. A blood red GINN, armed with a railgun, appeared. "Pathetic. Your machines are superior, but as always, your pilots are inferior," Zane said.

_"Inferior! I'll show you inferior, Patchworker!"_ one pilot shouted as he drew his beam saber and charged.

"Idiot," Zane said as he squeezed the trigger.

A round tore through the mobile suit's right shoulder, severing it. Three more rounds tore through the Strike Dagger's torso tearing it apart. _"You bastard!"_ the remaining pilot shouted as he fired off his rifle.

Zane was faster as he sidestepped the shot and fired back. The round hit the machine's chest removing the last threat to the Gungnir. Zane walked up to the Gungnir's console noticing it was still waiting for activation. "Now this won't do," he said as he pushed the activation button. "There. Now everything is back to the way it was. I hope you enjoy our present, Naturals."

With the final Gungnir activated, the count down on all the Gungnirs started.

_30..._

_20..._

_10..._

_5...4...3...2...1...0_

The Gungnirs fired each releasing a wave of energy. The waves spread out, consuming the entire area. The ZAFT mobile suits were unaffected but all of the Earth Alliance machinery wasn't. The EMP waves fried the circuitry of all of their machines and computers. From tanks and gun emplacements to Strike Daggers to the Panama Base itself. The Mass Driver overloaded, sending a massive surge through the track, tearing the entire thing apart.

* * *

Tao looked around at the carnage already beginning. She could hardly believe it! ZAFT soldiers were killing defenseless pilots!

"HEY! Stop this at once! What has gotten into you?!"

_"They killed many of back at JOSH-A! They deserve this treatment! We are the superior race!"_ A DINN pilot shouted as he tried to fire on a defenseless Strike Dagger. But Tao moved her machine in front, taking the blow on the Diver's Phase Shift armor.

"Damn it! Stop this now! This is not how we do things!" she shouted as the DINN pilot had his machine's head sliced off.

* * *

"What the? My machine! It won't move!" the Strike Dagger pilot said as he frantically tried to get his machine to work.

Diana pushed the mobile suit down and pried open the cockpit hatch. The pilot stepped out with his hands raised. Other nearby members of the 11th Fleet and the 7th Fleet did the same by rounding up a couple groups of Earth Alliance soldiers. But…it wasn't meant to be.

_"Aw...What's the matter? Is your toy broken?"_ a ZAFT pilot said as pushed a Strike Dagger down and fired at the cockpit, laughing as he murdered the defenseless pilot.

"Stand down dammit!" Diana shouted. "They're defenseless!"

_"Who the hell cares about a bunch of disgusting Naturals?"_ the pilot said, aiming at the gathered group of soldiers.

A shot rang out. The GINN's head exploded. "_What the hell? Why are you firing at me?"_

"I will not allow the senseless execution of defenseless soldiers," Diana said. "Stand down or I'll put you down."

The pilot wisely dropped his rifle. "Attention all ZAFT forces, this is Commander Kessel. The execution of surrendering Earth Forces soldiers will not be tolerated. Anyone who shoots a surrendering soldier will be punished severely."

_"Who the hell do think you are, Natural Lover?"_

_"Yeah! They deserve to this for JOSH-A!"_

_"Let's kill 'em all!"_

Cheers filled the comm. Most of the ZAFT soldiers were out for blood. An eye for an eye. A massacre for a massacre.

"Very well then. All members of the 11th Fleet and any other willing ZAFT soldiers, I order you to stop the slaughtering of the surrendered soldiers wherever you can. Permission to use lethal force has been approved, but keep yourselves from killing, if possible. I will take full responsibility for what happens here."

Across the battle, groups of mobile suits from the 11th Fleet gathered around captured EA soldiers. Many ZAFT soldiers wisely chose to avoid these groups, more out of fear of the 11th Fleet than anything else. A small few of like-minded pilots joined them in defending the captured soldiers but not all did as those two groups did...

* * *

"All ZAFT forces willing to help! I need your help in stopping the slaughter of any Earth Forces soldiers that have been captured. I do not care if you have to fight the other ZAFT pilots to get them into our protection, but to what you must to prevent this senseless killing! I will take full responsibility for what has occurred here."

Many of the 7th Fleet's machines did just that, attacking GINNs and other machines just to snag the Strike Daggers that were scattered about. Tao herself was engaged in a fight with three ZnOs, but she easily defeated them with her machine's battle staff.

* * *

"Back off!" Commander Wolfe shouted as she fired on three DINNs that tried to take the Strike Dagger trio behind her. The DINNs each exploded, catching the attention of the other pilots that were trying to kill the Earth Forces that were now captured.

_"Aw man…That's the Zeus! The 'Maverick Fleet' is attacking!"_ A GOOhN pilot shouted as many others began to back away from the Strike Daggers that were closest to them.

* * *

_"Out of the way!"_ the first of a pair of GINN pilots shouted.

"Sorry. No can do." Ajay drawled.

_"Why the hell are you bothering to protect these dogs?" _another pilot shouted. _"Look at what they did at Alaska! They don't even give a damn about their own forces!"_

"I got my orders pal. Just back away before things get messy." he said.

_"Filthy Natural Lover! Then you deserve to die as well!"_ the first shouted as they raised their rifles.

But Ajay was faster. Drawing his elbow blades, he sliced through the rifles cutting them in two.

_"Gah!"_

_"What? Dammit! You'll pay for this Natural Lover!"_

"Don't you two ever shut up?" Ajay said as he sliced through the GINNs' heads. "There. Say anything else, and I'll have to kill ya both."

* * *

_"Julie was at Alaska! This is for her!"_ a GINN pilot said as he aimed at a surrendering tank crew.

Suddenly, a sword sliced through his arm. "That's enough." Hilda said raising her sword to strike again if necessary. "They're surrendering. ZAFT soldiers don't fire on surrendering soldiers."

_"But they-"_

"No buts or I take your head." Hilda said. "We're ZAFT soldiers. We're better than them. We don't stoop to their level."

* * *

Heidi stood before a large group of DINNs and GINNs. The aerial machines were more than a match for her, but she was not a normal pilot either. She was one of the 7th's best.

"Stay back or I _will_ kill you!" she snarled as a pilot raised his weapon on her.

_"Damn Natural-lover! You will pay for this, even if you _are _one of the 7th!"_ he shouted as he fired. Jumping upwards, Heidi slashed off his machine's arm as a DINN came at her. Using her machine's jets, Heidi was able to land on the other machine and slice off not just the arms, but also the legs and wings. The machine fell to the ground with a _THUD_, Heidi landing unharmed not too far away.

"So, anyone else willing to try me?" she purred as the ZAFT pilots backed off from the group of Strike Daggers that she was defending.

* * *

_"Out of the way, woman,"_ a ZAFT pilot in a DINN said.

Lisa DeCosta and her all female team stood in front of an Earth Forces Aid Station bunker. They were not impressed by this pig and his buddies. The group of DINNs and GINNs had come here to take out the Aid Station and everyone inside, something none of them were willing to allow. "No," Lisa said. "This is an Aid Station. There's nothing but injured people here. Back off or you and your buddies will need it in a moment."

_"You think that we'll be beaten by a bunch of women? Ha! There's no way you're better than us!"_

_"Yeah!"_ another pilot shouted.

_"Get out of the way, girlie! Before we get angry and get rid of you too!"_

Lisa fired off some rounds at that particular pilot's GINN shooting off its head. "Call me that again, I dare you," the Commander of the _Valkyrie_'s mobile suits challenged.

_"Damn bitch!"_ the lead pilot shouted. _"Kill them all!"_

Both groups of ZAFT mobile suits fired. A GINN armed with Canus missile launchers fired but to the pilot's shock, one of the GINN High Maneuver Types fired and hit one of his missile just as he squeezed the trigger, detonating the missile and taking out the GINN and two other nearby mobile suits. A GINN with a sword, charged Lisa but she was faster. She drove her GINN's free hand through the other GINN's head. The GINN stopped and stumbled back a step. Before he could do anything else, Lisa grabbed the GINN and spun it around. She stole the rifle holstered on the back of its waist and kicked the mobile suit to the ground. She fired both rifles. Rounds tore through the GINNs and DINNs, destroying weapons and tearing off limbs. It wasn't long until there was only one DINN left while all of the High Maneuver Types were still standing. _"Damn you, bitch..."_ the leader of the group angrily said. "_How...How could defeat all of us without losing single machine?"_

Lisa smirked. "There's a reason why my machine and I are called Lady Luck," she said. "Ever since this war started, there hasn't been a single fatality among my team. And my teammates have survived crashes that should have been fatal. They believe me to be the embodiment of luck protecting them from harm. It's kind of foolish if you think about it, but if they wish to rationalize it like this, it's fine with me. Of course, I believe that it's the opposite. I don't bring them good luck but rather, I bring our opponents bad luck."

_"Quit screwing around with me!"_ the enraged pilot shouted, raising his rifle and shotgun. _"I refuse to be beaten by a bunch of women!"_

Lisa and her entire team fired. The sheer number of rounds tore through the DINN's head and limbs. Shredding them and tossing the DINN's torso back.

"Sarah, secure the fallen weapons. Maria, Linda, check the survivors. Take the wounded to the Aid Station and keep the rest in a group away from there. Everyone else, stay on alert."

"Sir!" the women said before carrying out her orders.

* * *

But even then, there just weren't enough of them to save many of the Earth Alliance soldiers. For every one they saved, ten more were mercilessly gunned down. Medics and wounded soldiers leaving a bunker were mowed down by a pair of GINNs. Immobile Strike Daggers were used for target practice for ZAFT mobile suits, their pilots still inside. Lifeless naval vessels were sunk by ZnOs and GOOhNs whose pilots would then crush the fleeing lifeboats with their suits arms. A barrage of missiles from the ZAFT sub carriers rained down upon the base. Without its anti-missile turrets, there was nothing to stop the missiles from hitting their targets. Destruction rained down upon the Port Panama Base. Buildings and hanger were hit and leveled. Not even the underground base command center was spared. Several missiles struck the building over top of the command center, causing the ceiling to collapse, crushing the command center and everything within it.

Saya watched the massacre in horror. There were rules to war. You weren't supposed to shoot surrendering soldiers, especially if they were unable to defend themselves. Even _NASA_ knew better than that! They had even been ordered not to kill them by Commander Kessel, but they continued their merciless slaughtering of Earth Forces soldiers. Even some of her own teammates had gotten involved in the killing. It just wasn't right. She didn't join the military to kill defenseless people. She joined to protect her family and the PLANTs. "Sir, are we just going to let them do this?" she asked, hoping that Yzak would do something about this nightmare unfolding before them.

Yzak shrugged. _"Shooting targets that can't fight back doesn't interest me but I'm not about to pick a fight with our own forces over saving some Naturals," _he said, turning away from the slaughter. _"Come on. We're heading back."_

Saya reluctantly turned and followed after him leaving the scenes of carnage behind her.

* * *

Zane walked through the remains of the Panama Base watching as ZAFT soldiers mercilessly gun down the defenseless Earth Forces soldiers. Zane himself hadn't joined in the slaughter. There was no need to. The angry and vengeful ZAFT soldiers were more than willing to show the true nature of humanity. Though there had been those that had resisted: The 11th Fleet and 7th Fleet. They were becoming more and more of an irritation. Of course, with Wu now the undisputed leader of ZAFT, they wouldn't be a problem for much longer, especially after this. They would either be brought to heel or dealt with, one way or another. Zane smirked as a GINN gunned down a group of soldiers trying desperately to escape with their lives. Another GINN appeared crushing a number of fleeing soldiers under its foot.

_"Ha! They're like little rats running from the exterminators,"_ one of the pilots said.

"Of course. The Naturals are nothing but vermin. And it's our job to exterminate them," Zane said nonchalantly. "Go. Wipe them all out. They deserve nothing less."

The pilots cheered and resumed exterminating the Naturals as tried to escape with their lives.

* * *

_Washington D.C._

President Hilson looked up from her position on the floor next to the trash can. Just barely two hours ago, she had seen the footage of the attack on Panama, and she had become sick to her stomach over the mere images that she had been seeing.

Now, the U.S. leader was enraged and angered by what she had seen. It was hard to believe that they had been supporting such a violent group of people. "It appears that following ZAFT is out of the question now." She murmured as she looked out the window.

Her guard looked at her. "Ma'am?"

"Call a meeting with the other two leaders at once. We have a decision to make." She said as she turned to face him.

"Yes ma'am!" Agent Williams replied.

* * *

_Hours later_

President Hilson sat in her office as the other two leaders arrived. Canadian Prime Minister Travis Warson and Mexican President Diego Gonzalez entered the Oval Office.

"You called us?" Prime Minister Warson asked. He had black hair and brown eyes. At age fifty-five, he was not only the oldest of the trio, but he was also the most experienced to date.

"Yes I did." The president of the U.S. replied.

President Gonzalez nodded. "Well, would you mind telling us what this is about?" he asked. Aged forty-five, he was the second oldest, with the average Mexican heritage one would expect. He was also the most informed thanks to a previous career in the intelligence gathering field.

"Have you seen what occurred at Panama?"

The other two leaders nodded. "Well, given that, and who runs the PLANTs by now, I'd say it's safe to say that we can no longer be allies of the PLANTs. We'll have to go our own way in ending this war."

Both male leaders gasped. "Are you serious?!" Gonzalez asked.

"I am." President Hilson replied.

Prime Minister Warson frowned. "But are you sure that this is the right idea?"

"If it wasn't, would I have even suggested it?" she rebutted.

Gonzalez sniggered at the other man's reaction.

"No…"

"Good. Then it's safe to say that we are now officially enemies of the PLANTs."

* * *

_NASA missile silos_

In White Sands Missile Base, Coordinator scientists were working on overcoming the N-Jammers as well, but like the other bases, to no avail.

"Damn ZAFT and their N-Jammers…" One murmured before the warhead she was working on flashed negative for engagement. "DAMN IT!"

Her colleague looked over. "That one failed to engage?"

"Just like the others that we tried." She murmured as she looked back at the stockpile behind her. "I just don't know how ZAFT did it!"

"What? Coming up with the N-Jammers?"

"Yeah! I mean, we're Coordinators too, right? So then, if that's the case, why can't _we_ overcome this challenge?"

Her colleague just sighed. "I know. It's just so hard right now. We need these missiles, and yet we can't even _use_ them!" he replied.

"The N-Jammers are perhaps our biggest obstacle. I mean, sure, we can re-armor our missiles, but that will only work in the short run. We need to disrupt the N-Jammer signal to our missiles in the long term." The female scientist sighed.

"That we know. It's the how that we can't figure out." Her colleague reminded her.

"I know that!" she snapped back. "The Earth Forces will eventually figure it out and try to attack us with their own! We need to have these as our counter!"

"Those ZAFT scientists really outdid themselves this time. They rendered us unable to defend ourselves, as well as the rest of the planet. If ZAFT tries to use nukes against us, then we would be done for. The energy crisis, as well as our lack of an effective defense, is all their doing. And they expect us to be _thanking_ them? As if. We are just as defenseless as the rest of the planet." The male scientist growled.

"If this is their way of repaying us for defending the Junius City group of PLANTs from being completely wiped out, then they are sorely mistaken." The female scientist growled. "We respect their human rights, and yet they take away one of our most effective defenses. Talk about thoroughly repaying someone for helping."

Her companion could not help but agree. "ZAFT made a big mistake in dropping those things into the Earth. And now we have to labor to find a way to cancel them out, or at least prevent their interference from messing with our missiles."

The two scientists looked back at the warhead that was still opened up. An engineer looked up to face them. "Well, like at all the other sites, the missile failed to engage. It seems that this is a world-wide phenomenon if you ask me."

"So then that means we would need to find a way to cancel the N-Jammers wherever the missiles go. We need a universal canceller." The female scientist mused.

"Yes; and getting one to even exist will be a challenge in itself." The engineer replied as he walked over. "It seems that the N-Jammers cancel out nuclear fission, but not fusion. Still, a lot of the missiles use fission to start the fusion process, which is the downside we have with this."

The crew knew what that meant. Until they found a way to overcome the N-Jammers, there was no way that the missiles, fission _or_ fusion, could be used.

"ZAFT is a real headache…" the male scientist murmured as he ran a hand through his hair.

"The purpose of the N-Jammer is to disrupt nuclear fission, which renders our current missile arsenal useless. If we were to build nuclear fusion missiles, then that would take a lot more time and money than just outfitting our current arsenal with the canceller that we are seeking." His colleague pointed out.

"True, but it would take a lot less than researching for a way to overcome the N-Jammers." He replied.

The female scientist sighed. "Why must ZAFT be so paranoid over a nuclear attack when it happened to be another nuclear missile attack was what saved them?"

Her companion shrugged. "How are we supposed to know how the PLANT Supreme Council thinks? They are just like us; individuals with their own thoughts and feelings on many subjects."

"True, very true…"

* * *

At the old Fermi-lab research site, scientists were working to try and cause an atom to split like it had in the years of the Second World War. But each time, the results failed to occur. Many were frustrated to the point of giving up, but they were under pressure to keep going.

"Damn it all!" the head of Fermi-lab snarled as she slammed her fists down on the table before her. "Why can't we get nuclear fission with the particle accelerator?! This thing has the most powerful energy source that is not nuclear powered, and yet we STILL can't get nuclear fission!"

The people working on the project looked at each other, all knowing how grim the situation was overall.

"We STILL can't get the atom to split, even under ideal conditions with the N-Jammer signal being blocked, thanks to the armor of the Traverses lining this place! And after all we have done for the PLANTs too! _THIS_ is how they choose to repay us?! By taking away _OUR_ nuclear fission weapons?! How ungrateful and paranoid can they be?!"

Another scientist looked back at the massive particle accelerator. "The power of the accelerator is more than enough to create nuclear fission. It's the N-Jammers that disrupt the free neutrons floating around. That is the cause of all nuclear fission not being used as of today."

"We know. It's just that ZAFT did not have to do this. They could have asked us to help out. We could have stopped this from happening by searching out the ones responsible for the attack. Yet did they? No! The High ZAFT Command just decided to drop these N-Jammers into the Earth instead!" the head of the lab replied.

Looking towards the massive computer readouts, she frowned. "N-Jammers are what make this research so difficult. The frequency that they emit can't be overcome by normal means."

"Then how can we? I mean, that is why we are working on this project!" a third scientist exclaimed in exasperation.

"I know. But if we are to overcome the N-Jammers and get our missiles working again, we need to think outside the normal means. And therein lies the problem. We have never encountered this before, so there is no current technology that can overcome the N-Jammers. We need to develop it." The head of the lab explained. "I just hope that we can before it all comes down to nuclear war…"

* * *

_Washington D.C._

President Hilson sighed as she read over the reports that had been sent in from the sites working on the N-Jammer problem. So far, there was no luck in the project. All attempts to cancel out the N-Jammer signals had backfired or ended in failure.

"So, even the armor of the Traverses can't cancel out the N-Jammer signals for too long…This could be a real problem if the Earth Forces find a way to overcome the signals." She noted as she read over another report. "Even Fermi-lab can't overcome the signals…that rules out sheer power for overcoming the N-Jammers…"

She put the reports down and looked out the windows. Not too far off, the White House grounds crews were working on digging out an N-Jammer that had landed right in the White House grounds. The machine was a tube that emitted the signals that were jamming nuclear fission, no doubt developed by ZAFT.

As she stared at the machine, an idea then came to her. _'Wait…If ZAFT developed it, then shouldn't we be able reverse engineer it to see how it works?'_ That seemed to be the most logical path to take, as it would reduce the amount of time spent on finding a way to overcome the N-Jammers.

"We study the source, and then we work from there…"

It seemed to be the best path at that point, but also the most problematic if ZAFT got word of the idea, or even worse, if the Earth Alliance figured out what they were doing. Still, it was the only option that seemed viable.

_'If ZAFT finds out, then they could launch an attack on us from orbit, and that would be hard to stop, as there is no real base for us to attack in retaliation. Plus, if they can just drop down onto the planet, then we have to real defense thanks to the N-Jammers. Our most powerful missiles are disrupted, so they can't be used. Now if the Earth Forces found out, then they could attack us with sheer numbers, which means that even we would fall, and thanks to our missiles being out of commission, once again thanks to the N-Jammers, we would have no real method of retaliation. This is the most risky option yet, but if it is pulled off, it also has the most rewards…'_

The president thought carefully before she sat down and began to write out her proposal to the Congress and Pentagon.

* * *

_Pentagon_

John Keller looked over the proposal that he had received not too long ago. "She wants to study the N-Jammer that was dug up…not a bad idea…"

He set down the paper, musing over the possibilities. If the proposal was carried out, then ZAFT and the Earth Forces would possibly find out. But if it was kept under the utmost secrecy, then the potential for their missiles being brought back online was enormous. _AND_ it would allow for NASA to have the power to back-up its fighting words this time.

The defense secretary smirked. This was going to be fun…

_'Once those Blue Cosmos nutjobs see that we are not without our most powerful defenses, then they will really have reason to scream and cower!'_ he thought as he wrote out the orders.

* * *

Military bases all over the alliance were sent the data on the N-Jammer while one received the actual article.

The base lucky enough to receive it was none other than the Great Lakes Naval Base in the Midwest of the States.

The N-Jammer was unloaded as security guards at attention around the area. Naval and military officers and scientists stood around the N-Jammer as it was set on the ground. Once it was set down, a Coordinator scientist opened up the N-Jammer, revealing the electronics inside it. The man looked it over and moved around to get a better look at some of the parts.

Observations done, he looked up. "Well, it will take some time, but I believe that we can overcome it and the radiation emitted from it." Those were the words that everyone had been waiting to hear. Cheers erupted from the whole of the group. "Still, it will take lots of observations and data study to do so. That was just my opinion."

That did not bother the rest of the military officials though. As far as they were concerned, it was all they needed to hear.

* * *

_New Juneau_

Aki' stared in horror at the carnage shown to him via the NAZAFT commander's computer screen. Now he knew why she had called him down to her office again.

"So, pilot Nishikama, are you still willing to serve such a…brutal…military force?" the commander asked him.

He was so focused on being sick to his stomach that he did not even answer. "…ugh…"

"Well?"

The boy looked back at her, his face filled with fear. "Was I…becoming like them?" he asked.

"If you had remained as such, yes, you would have if you had continued to seek revenge for your sister's death."

Looking down at his hands, he could not accept that he had killed so many Naturals. And even _then_ it had not been in such cold blood.

"Do you want to know if I want to leave ZAFT?"

The NAZAFT commander looked up. "You have a response?"

Aki' nodded. "Yes. I want to leave ZAFT altogether."

* * *

Akira plans to leave ZAFT as the ZAFT forces attack Panama while NASA's leadership votes to go against ZAFT and tries to overcome the N-Jammers to regain their nuclear arsenal. But will they be able to? Or will ZAFT get wind of NASA's plans and try to defeat them as well? Read on to find out~! :3

Any flames _**will**_ be deleted or reported, depending on if the review is signed or not. Keep reading and reviewing!


	25. Phase 24: Decisive Fire

Phase Twenty-Four: Decisive Fire

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. Nor do I own Martin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: I am glad you like it, and you will see soon enough. ;)**

**Titanic X: It is.**

**Bhn: I know you are the same guest, so please use the same name so it is consistent. And I do once a week save for this time.**

**Mars309 Roci: Sorry I didn't answer the question. Cagalli will get the Strike Rouge. And it is also quality that decides victors, not just quantity, so numbers for the **Archangel** do not matter. It is skill of the pilots that will decide the winners. :)**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those with an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are.**

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

_Aprilius One_

Athrun watched as crews worked on getting the ZGMF-X09A Justice ready. He could see the side of the nuclear reactor. It's red and yellow warning sign clear for all to see. Even seeing it with his own eyes, Athrun still couldn't believe it. A machine powered by nuclear energy. The PLANTs had all agreed to abandon nuclear technology, because of the danger it represented. Yet here they were working on a mobile suit powered by a nuclear reactor. His superior's words still echoed in his mind.

"_If we want to win this war, then we'll need that power."_

But just how would they use nuclear power to win the war? With just two mobile suits? That didn't seem possible, regardless of how powerful these machines are. Then what was Chairman Wu referring to?

"It's so sad. Nicol had always loved her songs so very much." Yuri Amalfi said, distracting Athrun from his thoughts.

Athrun hadn't told him that Nicol might still be alive. Commander Creuset had advised him not to tell Nicol's parents that he might still be alive, because if he was wrong, then it would only get their hopes up before shattering it. And they'd end up reliving the same pain all over again. So Athrun had decided to keep quiet about it "I'm very sorry about what happened to Nicol." was all that Athrun could say.

Yuri nodded. "I know. It's alright." he said, his tone tired and weary. "I'm sorry too. I understand why it happened. This is a war after all. And you did avenge him."

A fresh wave of guilt hit Athrun as memories of Kira and the Strike's destruction reemerged from the back of his mind. The guilt and sorrow was as fresh today as it was the day he killed Kira.

"But when there are young people like you and Nicol out there fighting on the battlefield, sacrificing yourself for all of us, I can't fathom how someone could betray us. Betray you like that. That's what angers me more than anything else. We've already sacrificed too much!" Yuri said, his face a mixture of grief and anger. "And that why we decided to equip the new models with N-Jammer Cancelers."

Athrun's thoughts turned to Lacus. His mind was still plagued with questions and doubts about her. Why did she betray ZAFT? Why give a machine equipped with a Neutron Jammer Canceler to a spy? The Lacus he knew wouldn't do such a thing. But he had seen the footage. It was her. There was no question about it. Then why had she done such a thing?

"Should this technology fall into the hands of the Earth Forces, they'd be more than willing to use nuclear weapons again. We must prevent that from happening, at costs!" Yuri turned to Athrun. "I'm counting on you Athrun."

Athrun's gaze was fixed squarely on the Justice. He wasn't going to allow another Bloody Valentine to happen. Even if he had to wipe out entire base to prevent the N-Jammer Canceler from being used to bring back nuclear warheads into the war.

* * *

_Clyne Residence_

_A Few Hours Later_

Athrun wandered through the backyard of Clyne mansion. The place looked like a tornado had torn through the area. The soldiers and investigators were not caring about the house and its yard in their search for Lacus and her father. He had come here, hoping for answers. But it didn't look like he was going to find any.

Athrun remembered all the times he had visited Lacus here. During happier times. Now those memories seemed old and faded, while memories of the Bloody Valentine, the destruction of the Blitz and his near-suicidal attack that destroyed the Strike and Kira, stayed as crystal clear as the day they happened.

Suddenly, Athrun heard the sounds of movement behind him. He spun around, reaching for the sidearm in his coat. But he stopped the second he saw what it was. The pink Haro. The very first Haro he gave to Lacus. She loved her Haro, especially the first one. And she wouldn't have forgotten about it. She would have taken it with her. "Haro!" it shouted as it bounced around.

Athrun reached out for it, but Haro bounced away from him, forcing to him chase after it. "Haro! Come back!" Athrun called out as he ran.

"I don't wanna!" Haro chirped as it bounced away, heading for the flower arch.

It was here that Athrun finally caught the pink machine. As it continued to chirp and buzz, Athrun looked around at the arch. The flowers that had once covered the arch had been torn down, leaving a white skeletal frame in its place. He remembered the white roses that grew in the arch. Lacus had told once that they were planted so she'd always remember where she first sang in public.

Then something clicked in the back of mind. What if Lacus hadn't forgotten the Haro? What if she had left it behind for him to find? That means that she would have left it behind with a message for him or her location. At that moment, the final piece snapped into place. Haro had led him to the flower arch. The only place where the white roses had been planted.

Athrun knew where she was. He took off, still holding Haro. He was going to get answers from her one way or the other.

* * *

_White Symphony Theater_

_An Hour Later_

Athrun parked his car and stepped out into the rain. He glanced at the Theater's sign. 'White Symphony' was written on the sign with a pair of white roses. The theater had been closed months ago and was slated for demolition. But Lacus had been leading a campaign for the theater to be restored, halting the plans for demolishing it for the time being. In the meantime, it was abandoned. There were no shows there. Nor any reason for anyone to be there. The perfect place to hide.

Athrun entered the theater. The whole building was in a terrible state of disrepair. Old posters from the theater's last performance, a concert by Lacus, were still on the walls. Debris littered the floor. A layer of dust rested on the floor and walls. He wondered if it was sit structurally safe. Regardless of whether it was safe or not, he continued further into the theater, pulling out his gun as walked. He wasn't sure what he was walking into, but he was going to be prepared for whatever he encountered.

Then he heard something. A voice singing. He couldn't make out the song or the singer's voice that well. But it was female and it was coming from the auditorium. Athrun entered the auditorium and there, sitting on the stage and singing, surrounded by debris, was Lacus.

He started walking towards the stage as Lacus continued to sing, seemingly unaware of his arrival. Athrun found himself looking back at everything that had happened since Heliopolis.

Discovering Kira in cockpit of the Strike. Miguel's death at Kira's hands. The destruction of Heliopolis. The battle in the Debris Belt. The Raven's pilot returning Lacus to him. The battles with Kira and the rest of the legged ship's pilots. The destruction of the Blitz and the loss of Nicol. His grueling battle with Kira and Kira's death. But most of all, Cagalli's words to him after that battle.

"_Someone's killed for killing another! Then that guy is killed for killing him! How is that twisted thinking ever going to bring peace?"_

Athrun wished that none of this would have happened. His mother gone in the Bloody Valentine. Kira, and possibly Nicol, dead as well. Saul and Dearka missing, presumed dead. Lacus, a traitor and a criminal. Everything just seemed to be falling apart.

"No problem! No problem! Lacus!" Haro shouted, bring Athrun out of his thoughts and ending Lacus's singing.

Haro then jumped out of Athrun's hand, bouncing off the ground towards Lacus. Lacus caught it in her hands and smiled. "Why hello there Mr. Pink." Lacus said, turning to Athrun. "I was certain that you'd be the one to find him and bring him here."

Athrun climbed onto the stage. He needed answers. "Explain yourself Lacus. What have you done?"

"I'm sure you you've heard all about. That's why you've come here, isn't it?" Lacus replied, her smile still on her face.

Athrun felt himself getting angry. He wanted answers! "Is what they're saying about you true, Lacus? Did you really give provide assistance to an enemy spy? Answer me!"

"I did not help a spy." She calmly answered. "I simply provided Kira with a newer, better sword. Because I felt that he had need of it now."

Athrun's eye widened in shock. That was impossible! Kira was dead. He killed Kira himself. She was using Kira to trick him! "You're lying!" he shouted, pointing the gun at her. "Kira's dead! I...I..."

"Killed him? I assure that he's still very much alive."

"That's impossible! I saw it with my own eyes! There's no way he could have survived! What kind of trick is this, Lacus?"

Lacus shook her head. "No. It's no trick. Reverend Malchio found Kira unconscious and brought him to me. Then Kira told me about what between the two of you. Don't you believe me? Do you even believe what you see with your own eyes? Haven't you seen how things have changed? On the battlefield, or even here now that you've returned?"

Athrun couldn't deny that things had changed. The N-Jammer Cancelers and the PLANTs using nuclear power were just the latest changes he had seen going through ZAFT. Changes that Athrun had to admit, he didn't feel with.

"What is that you're fighting for? Is it because of that medal you received? Or the chairman's orders?" Lacus asked, her tone and demeanor completely changing, becoming serious. "Because if that is so, then you'll likely find yourself fighting Kira as an enemy again. And I as well."

"Lacus…"

Lacus stood up and walked towards him. "And if you see me as an enemy, then you might as well shoot me now, Athrun Zala of ZAFT!"

Athrun knew he couldn't just shoot her. This was the girl that he had been arranged to marry. He lowered his weapon completely and hung his shoulders. How had this whole mess come to pass?

Suddenly, a group of armed men in black suits entered the auditorium. Their guns were trained on Lacus. Athrun pulled Lacus behind him and pointed his own gun at them, unsure of what they here for. "You have our thanks, Athrun Zala." the leader of the group said as he approached them.

"What's going on here?" Athrun demanded.

"Naturally, her fiancée would know her best and where best to find her. You've saved us a great deal of time." the man replied. "Now please step away from her. She's a fugitive accused of treason. We've been authorized to use lethal force if necessary. Are sure you want to protect her?"

Athrun was stunned. Lethal force? That couldn't be right. Chairman Wu wouldn't order such an extreme measure. Would he? "Those orders can't be right." Athrun said, his gun still pointed at the men.

At that very moment, a shot rang out. Instinctively, Athrun pulled Lacus behind a large piece of debris. One of the suits fell to the ground. More shots rang out. A number of the men in suits were gunned by their unseen attackers. They fired back, but their attackers were hidden in the shadows of the auditorium. Those on the stage however, turned their attention to Athrun and Lacus, pinning them behind the ruins. Gunfire opened up on the stage, killing the men on the stage and finishing the last of them off. Armed ZAFT soldiers entered the auditorium, checking to make sure the first group of armed men was dead. A pair of armed men stepped onto the stage. The first was a young man in a green ZAFT uniform with maroon hair. The second was older with black hair and wearing a suit. Athrun instantly recognized him. He was Ian Kessel, Saul's father and the only Council member that supported Siegel Clyne that wasn't in custody.

"It's all clear." Ian said. "You can come out now."

Lacus walked out from the debris. "Thank you Mr. Kessel." she said with a smile. "Did Reverend Malchio's shuttle manage to take off?"

"Yes." the younger, maroon haired man answered. "He's on his way to Earth now."

"More will come." Ian added. "It'd be wise for us to leave as quickly as possible."

Lacus nodded. "I understand." She turned to Athrun. "Goodbye Athrun. And thank you again for bringing Mr. Pink back to me. You'll find Kira on Earth. I suggest you go there and have a talk with him. He is after all, your friend."

And with that, Lacus, Ian and the soldiers left. Where they were going, Athrun didn't know. But he did know where he was going. The technicians had told him that the Justice would be ready for him in a few days. And once it was ready, he'd head to Earth. To see Kira with his own eyes.

* * *

_AEU High Command_

_The London Tower_

In a secret room, underneath the London Tower, a group of men were arguing. But these were not ordinary men. They were the ones who ran the AEU. And now because of JOSH-A, the Earth Alliance as well.

"This is humiliating! Our near success at JOSH-A is virtually worthless now that we've lost Panama!" an enraged Secretary Raynes shouted.

JOSH-A had nearly been a major success for them. It would have greatly weakened ZAFT, as well as the HRL and NASA, enabling them to take control of the Alliance as a whole. But with the loss of Panama, things were in jeopardy of turning against them.

"Our Lunar bases will exhaust their stores very quickly with the supply route from Panama cut off!" Foreign Minster Wade said, his tone just as angry. "How are we supposed to launch a counteroffensive with this situation?"

"We're accelerating our plan to recapture Victoria." Defense Minister Keegan answered, trying calm down the worried and angry Heads of the Advanced European Union. "But it's not going to be easy to take their Mass Driver undamaged."

The wary Prime Minister of the AEU let out a sigh. Just when they had appeared to completely turn the war around in their favor, ZAFT had struck back. Reversing things and returning the disadvantage to the Alliance. "And what about ORB? What's the latest news on them?" Prime Minister Griffin asked.

"We've repeatedly asked for their assistance. But that stubborn fool Uzumi Nara Athha refuses to see things our way." Wade replied, disgust in his tone for the neutral nation and its esteemed leader.

Worse news for them. ORB's Mass Driver was the only one of two not under the control of ZAFT. They had hoped that they could reason with ORB and bring them into the fold. But their damn belief of neutrality was stopping that from happening.

Virtually unnoticed and ignored by the men in the room, was the sound of fingers tapping on the table. "Oh really? Is it because they're...neutral?" Azrael drawled as his fingers repeatedly tapped the table. "That's just not right, now is it? Not when all the others risking their lives, fighting against...Mankind's enemy."

"Azrael, I wish you won't phrase it in such an extreme manner. We are not Blue Cosmos." Griffin said.

Griffin didn't particularly care for Azrael. He was a bit too extreme for his liking. But the man was the Director of the Atlantic National Defense Conglomerate, the main arms manufacture for the AEU. As a result, he wielded a great deal of power with the alliance.

Azrael stopped tapping his fingers, making an apologetic shrug. "Sorry. No offense was intended. But I simply cannot understand why you people continue to tolerate a nation like that. One that hides behind such flimsy excuses. I think we've reached a point in this conflict where being neutral is a luxury."

"But the ORB Union is a completely independent sovereign nation. We have to acknowledge that." the Prime Minister replied.

"Yes. But ORB is a nation of Earth, isn't it? That means it should be obligated to cooperate with the Alliance. That only seems fair, now doesn't it?" Azrael commented. "If you'd like, I'll be more than happy to lead the negotiations. I'll deal with ORB."

Many of the officials stared at Azrael, unsure of what he was planning. "What do you mean?" the uncertain Foreign Minster asked.

Azrael stood up. "Our priority is to get our hands onto someone's Mass Driver. And right away. Why settle for one when you could have two, or even three?"

Many seemed convinced. But not Prime Minister Griffin. "Well...yes but-"

Azrael cut him off. "You'll be quite busy planning the Victoria Operation. It would be more efficient to divide these responsibilities. And while we're at it, we might even have a chance to test the new toys."

"You're planning on using the new machines?" Minster Keegan asked.

"It all depends on how our esteemed counterpart reacts. If the noble Mr. Athha is even half as stubborn as he's rumored to be, then I think we could find ourselves in for a little excitement." Azrael said, a predatory grin appearing on his face.

"But what about NASA? Don't they have a Mass Driver as well?" Minister Keegan asked.

Azrael glared at the other man, making him back off suddenly. Prime Minister Griffin knew all too well what had occurred not too long ago concerning the joining of NASA to the Earth Alliance. President Hilson had really humiliated him in front of countless esteemed government workers and world leaders.

"NASA's Mass Driver will be attacked the same time as ORB's. This way we can gain one if the other falls out of our reach." He replied in a low tone of voice.

Many in the room gasped at the declaration. He was _challenging the_ _most powerful nation on Earth!_ Very few had attempted that, and even fewer had succeeded. But if anyone was to fail, it was him. NASA had learned from the past, and would put up a real challenge, one that even _they_ could not win.

"You do realize that it is a bad idea to do that, right?" Minister Wade replied.

"OF COURSE I KNOW THAT!" Azrael shouted back.

Many backed off, still uneasy around the now angry man.

* * *

_Port Panama_

Commanders Diana Vessel, Lisa DeCosta, Basque Gideon, Lucius Raveshaw, and Ajay Cortez walked down the halls of the hastily erected ZAFT base near the ruins of Port Panama's central base. The 7th Fleet commanders, Tao White and Araiya Wolfe were beside them. As they walked, they passed many ZAFT officers and soldiers, many of whom glared at them venomously. Glaring at them for what they did. As they passed a pair of ZAFT pilots, one of them said, "Nothing but a bunch of traitors."

He hadn't even bothered to try to keep his voice down. "Hmph. They're worse than those damn, disgusting Naturals." his comrade added.

Both Ajay and Basque stopped. "I'm sorry, I'm a little hard of hearing. But what did you just say?" Ajay asked. "It sounded like you called us a bunch of traitors. But I know that no one would be stupid enough to say it to our faces."

"I said, you're all traitors to ZAFT." the first pilot shot back.

"Well then. Me and King Kong here, have a problem. You see, we can't decide just what to do to a pair of jackasses like you two." Ajay said as Basque, standing behind him, punched his palm as he glared at them. "Should we just beat the crap out of you? Or should we-"

"Ajay. Basque. Enough." Diana called out, not even looking back. "They are not worth our time."

Ajay grumbled. But in the end, the two of them rejoined the group and they continued on their way.

"Walk away traitors!" the second pilot called out. "The Naturals don't deserve any mercy! The future of Coordinators can only be guaranteed when every Natural is dead! The Black Hawk would be ashamed to see how his Fleet has become weak under your command! His entire command has become weak and pathetic!"

Diana stopped, turned around and walked back to the two pilots. A few moments later, both pilots were on the ground, Diana standing over them. Diana put her foot on the chest of the second pilot. "You can insult me. You can insult the men and women under my command. But you will not insult the memory of the Commander by saying such things, Pilot..." she glanced at the name tag on his uniform before continuing. "Sato. The Commander would not have condoned that massacre. Especially what you two did. Gunning down surrendering, wounded Earth soldiers and doctors. If I ever serve on the same battlefield as you two again and catch you doing such a thing, I'll execute you for war crimes myself."

Diana then straightened out her uniform and left with her subordinates. A few minutes later, they reached the doors to the briefing room. Only Diana and Tao entered the room. The inquiry that was going to take place was closed to all but those testifying.

Inside the room, Rau Le Creuset and several other officers and various members of the military sat, waiting for the officers in charge of the inquiry to arrive. Diana sat down next to Creuset. Tao was right next to her as well. "Commander Kessel, it is a pleasure to see you again." the masked snake greeted.

"Be quiet Creuset. I still blame you for what happened." Diana coldly shot back.

"You're blaming me for the massacre? Isn't that a little harsh? As I recall, neither of us were able to obtain any order of the soldiers while they massacred the soldiers of the Earth Forces."

"As if you tried to help us out…" Tao murmured from beside her fellow commander.

"No. Not that." Diana replied. "I blame you for sending out my younger brother's team after the legged ship with an inexperienced commander that led to his disappearance."

"Hmm...I didn't know you cared." Creuset commented. "You certainly never acted like-"

"Be quiet Creuset, before I rip your forked tongue out."

Tao sniggered at her remark.

At that moment, the door opened and a group of ZAFT officers entered. Led by Admiral Thule, Supreme Commander of ZAFT Forces on Earth.

Diana was both pleased and relieved that Thule himself was in charge of the inquiry, as was Tao. The graying Admiral was known as a fair man. And he didn't involve himself in the politics of the Supreme Council, which meant that he was in Wu's camp.

Admiral Thule and the other officers returned the salute. "Commander Kessel. Commander Le Creuset. Commander White. This inquiry has been called to answer the question of what exactly happened at the end of Operation Odin's Spear. And whether or not, charges should be brought up. Since the three of you were the Commanding Field Officers, our investigation will start with the three of you. Commander Kessel, if you'd give us your testimony first. Start from the beginning."

Diana nodded while Creuset took his seat. "The initial landing and securing of the Gungnir sites went off without much difficulty. Our superior mobile suits easily dealt with their outdated weaponry. However, shortly after the Gungnirs were deployed on the field, new, mass produced mobile suits of the Earth Forces appeared on the battlefield. The mobile suits themselves were superior to our GINNs and other mobile suits. Though in the end, the inexperience of the Earth Forces pilots at mobile suit warfare, gave us an opening to exploit and we drove them back. We then proceeded to push forward, so that we could buy time for the Gungnirs to be set up and fired."

"How combat effective would you describe the new Earth Alliance machines?" an officer asked.

"Very combat effective sir. As I said, they were superior to our GINNs. Their armaments consisted of a beam rifle, beam saber and a shield. Most of our machines didn't stand a chance against that hardware. My personal opinion on the mobile suits are that if we do not race to meet the challenge these new mobile suits represent with new, superior, mass produced mobile suits of our own. Then I fear that our technological advantage. The only advantage we have in this war, will be lost."

Thule nodded. None of them needed to be reminded of how the bulk of their victories in the war were solely due to their technological superiority over the Earth Forces. If it wasn't for their mobile suits, ZAFT would have lost within a few months of the war. And even with the mobile suits, there had never been a guarantee that they would win the war. Especially now with the losses from Spitbreak and the deployment of Earth Forces mobile suits. "And what of what happened after the Gungnirs were fired? Why did our own forces end up fighting each other?" the Admiral asked.

"After the Gungnirs were fired and all of the weapons of Panama's defenders were rendered useless, members of the 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet and myself began rounding up the surrendering soldiers. But one pilot mercilessly murdered a defenseless Earth Alliance soldier. I ordered him to stand down, but he refused. He then tried to gun down the captured soldiers. I fired on the man, destroying his GINN's head and main camera. I again ordered him to stand down. This time, he complied. I then ordered all ZAFT forces to refrain from firing on surrendering Earth Alliance soldiers. Most disobeyed this order and proceeded to kill the defenseless soldiers. I then ordered all who were still willing to listen to a superior officer to defend the newly captured POWs. I urged them to avoid fatal shots, but if necessary to protect themselves or the prisoners, to shoot to kill. My only regret is that such a situation occurred in the first place."

"You should have let the men extract their revenge for Alaska. After what they did at Alaska, no mercy should have been given to those bastards." one of officer said, his voice filled with contempt for both the Naturals and Commander Kessel.

"I'm sorry _sir_. Sorry for following the rules of war." she shot back. "And sorry for not letting petty hatred and bigotry cloud my judgment. I thought we were military officers, not Hong Fa Wu's fanatics."

"Watch your tongue, girl. Or you may find yourself regretting-"

"Enough!" Thule interrupted. "Colonel Brunt, I remind you that I will not tolerate anyone threatening a ZAFT soldier. Nor, Commander Kessel, will I tolerate a ZAFT soldier talking down to a superior officer."

Diana bowed her head. "Apologies Admiral."

Brunt scowled. "I apologize as well Admiral." he said halfheartedly.

Thule cleared his throat. "Any further testimony Commander Kessel?"

"Nothing beyond my personal feelings on the massacre that followed the firing of the Gungnirs."

"Very well then. Commander White, we will now hear your testimony from after the assault ended."

Tao stood up as Diana took her seat. "Yes, sir. While out in the field, I saw countless ZAFT soldiers killing defenseless pilots and soldiers while laughing, as if they _'enjoyed'_ it. It was disturbing me as well as many others in my unit. I tried to get them to stop, but no one listened to my order. So, in accordance with the rules of war, I gave my unit permission to attack and kill in order to defend the surrendered soldiers. This they did to great effect."

Thule spoke up. "Is it true that your unit's machines attacked _and_ _destroyed_ several ZAFT machines in the course of the aftermath?"

"Yes, sir. And if you want to know if I regret it and would do it again given the chance, I would do it again in a heartbeat." Tao replied.

"Figures, given on where you are from. Of course you would attack us, as you all from NASA are Natural-lovers." Brunt snarled.

A glare from Thule made Brunt shut up. Turning back to Tao, he continued. "In light of what happened, I cannot blame you for the orders you gave. You did what anyone would have done in that situation."

"How can you be accepting _her_ side of the story?! She is of the 'Maverick Fleet'! They are _known_ for attacking ZAFT officers!" Brunt shouted.

"ENOUGH!" Thule roared. Brunt was shut up again, perhaps for good this time. "Now that _that_ is out of the way, we will now hear Commander Creuset's testimony."

Rau stood up as Tao took her seat. "Yes sir. While Commanders Kessel and White were commanding from the field, I was aboard the Cousteau, commanding and directing the battle as a whole. When the Gungnirs were fired and our own forces begin to fire on the Earth Alliance soldiers. We received Commander Kessel's order to cease attacking the Naturals and I likewise tried to stop it. But the anger from Alaska was far too great for either of us to control. It was truly appalling to see our soldier stoop to that level. But truthfully, I doubt we could have done more than what we did do."

* * *

_New Juneau_

"You wish to what?" the NAZAFT supreme commander asked, unsure if she heard properly.

"You heard me. I wish to leave ZAFT altogether." Aki' replied. The commander looked at him, eyeing him as if he was lying. Yet, in his eyes, there was a conviction that told her otherwise.

She smiled and nodded. "You speak true. Your ideals have interconnected with those of the United States and NASA. You wish to see justice for your family served, and you wish to see those responsible for her death punished harshly and truly. Very well then. As of this moment, you are no longer a part of ZAFT."

Aki' felt a smile cross his face as tears streamed down his cheeks. For the first time in so many years, he felt at peace.

"As of right now, you are given the rank of Lieutenant, and are hereby drafted into NAZAFT as a blue-uniform pilot. Your ZAFT Academy records and combat exploits have been transferred over to our database. It is as if you were never in ZAFT in the first place. Also, that machine you stole?"

He gulped, unsure if the Wing was to be confiscated or not.

"The Wing is, as of right now, your machine once again. It has been given an upgrade on the armor, so it will not require the Phase-Shift armor. In other words, it now uses the same armor that is used on the Traverse Mobile Units."

Aki' was stunned, but did not show it much. "The Wing no longer requires power for the Phase-Shift?"

The commander nodded. "Yes, that is correct. Now, I wish to send you back down to Earth to aid the _Archangel_ and ORB. They will need all the help that they can get. But before you go, change into this." She said as she handed him a blue uniform. "It's your new uniform and pilot suit."

Aki' put on the pants and boots first, followed by the shirt and jacket. With the belt on last, he then closed up the front on the right side. The new uniform felt more like a release than the military uniform that it actually was. But that did not matter. He was just glad to have found a new reason for fighting.

"Now go, Lieutenant Nishikama. Your former teammates will need you soon. You shall leave in two weeks." The NAZAFT commander replied.

"Yes ma'am!" Aki' replied, pulling off the salute of the U.S. Armed Forces, a salute that was well-known and respected all over the world, even in the PLANTs.

With that, he turned in a crisp manner and left, his superior officer smiling as he did so.

* * *

_Several Hours Later_

After hearing their testimony, as well as the testimony of a number of ZAFT soldiers and several captured EA officers, Thule dismissed them, informing them that he and the other officers would deliberate over whether or not charges should be brought up on anyone.

When Diana left the room, she found her subordinates still waiting for her. Tao found the same thing, with Heidi and Commander Wolfe waiting for her as well. Lucius was the first to speak. He wound up asking what they were all wondering. "Did they reach a decision sir?"

"They're deliberating. They said they're going to have their decision to tomorrow." Diana explained.

"Typical." Tao muttered as she rolled her eyes.

Diana and her subordinates walked past the hastily erected POW camp. It was basically, several rows of tents, surrounded by a chain link fence and patrolled by armed guards. The Earth Alliance personnel within the camp quickly spotted and recognized them as they walked past.

"That's the Commander of the 11th Fleet. She saved my life."

"Yeah. We would have been done for if it wasn't for her."

"Those maniacs would have killed us all if it wasn't for them."

"I heard they're gonna lock her up for fighting to save us."

"What? No way! Are the Zafties that crazy?"

"Are you kidding? Half the soldiers here wanna put a bullet in our heads."

"Hey, at least the 7th Fleet was there to save us as well."

"You mean that fleet that is known for attacking ZAFT ships as well?"

"Yep. Those guys were _nuts_ out there! Did you see what they did to save my squad?"

"Talk about crazy! I hear that most of them are from NASA too."

"No way! That's why they saved us, eh?"

Diana didn't blame them for thinking that, but it was good to hear some things about the 7th Fleet being vital to their survival as well. After Alaska, things were changing. It was bad enough that Hong Fa Wu had managed to beat Clyne in the election, making him the new Supreme Council Chairman. But with the near loss of so many soldiers during Spitbreak, more and more were following Hong Fa Wu's insane beliefs. And now because of her actions, the men and women under her command were likely to suffer. One way or another.

Suddenly, one by one, the Earth soldiers started saluting her until almost the entire camp was at attention. Diana stopped and returned the salute. The truth was, she didn't regret her actions in the slightest. Despite whatever punishment it may bring. She would not forsake her honor or the honor of her subordinates.

Tao also returned the salute, glad that she didn't regret her actions in the slightest either. If anything, she was just doing what she had been taught to do by NASA's military and history. There was no way that she was giving up on her country or its ideals for the honor of the PLANTs.

* * *

_ZAFT Supreme Council Chambers_

"And if no one has any other matters to bring, then this concludes-"

"Pardon the interruption, Chairman Wu, but there is one matter that you have forgotten about." Yuri Amalfi said, interrupting the Chairman.

Wu frowned. He had hoped that the members of the National Defense Committee that served on the Council wouldn't bring this matter up. It enraged him that the majority of the Defense Committee had agreed to such a thing.

"And what would that be?" Ezalia asked.

"With the start of the mass production of the GuAIZs, the Defense Committee has been deciding who should be given these new machines first." Yuri explained. "Much of the Committee has agreed that our best fighting force should be given the new mobile suits as soon as possible. Especially, with the Earth Forces deploying their own mass production mobile suit. A machine that, I should remind you, is superior to the backbone of our own military, the GINN. The majority of the Committee voted that the 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet should be amongst the first to receive the new GuAIZs. But they wish for the matter to be brought before the Council for final approval."

"But how do we know that Commander Kessel's loyalty is strong? Her father is suspected of being a traitor and a spy, and has completely disappeared." Wu argued.

"Unfortunately Chairman, we have yet to find anything to support such an accusation." Louise Leitner, Head of the Judicial Committee said. "Nor have we found any evidence tying the other arrested Council members to the Clynes' treachery. In fact, we have nothing to even hold them on."

Wu's expression turned into an outright scowl. "Search harder. They've been working with that traitor Clyne. I know it."

"As I said, the investigators have yet to find any solid connections to tie the arrested Council members to the Clynes and what they've done." Louise replied. "We've searched their residences and office. We've been questioning all of the families and close associates. And we haven't found anything to even point to the possibility of them being spies."

"Just keep them detained until we can find the Clynes and get this whole mess straightened out." Wu said, trying to control is anger. If they were released now and returned to the Council, they would fight to stop GENESIS. Because they were too weak and stupid to understand what needed to be done to ensure the future of the Coordinators. GENESIS must be completed. So it could usher in the Age of the Coordinators.

"You seem to forget one thing Wu." Patrick Zala said as everyone looked to the only council member who had been silent the whole time. "You are holding people, outstanding citizens at that, against their will. If NASA found out, how would they react to that situation?"

Many shivered at the question. Only a select few knew how NASA would react, and it would not be good for the PLANTs, as that alliance had the means to pull off a nuclear attack, even _with_ the N-Jammers.

"We are getting a bit off topic here." Yuri commented. "We're discussing whether or not the 11th Fleet should be given the first of the new GuAIZs. Though the Defense Committee voted in favor of giving them the new GuAIZs, they also felt that due to the sensitive nature of Commander Kessel's family, we should be the ones to make the final decision. Personally, I'm in favor of it. They are our best unit and they deserve the best machines we have."

"I must agree as well." Ezalia said, surprising Wu. "Regardless of her family, Commander Kessel's unit is one of our best. With the new mobile suits of the Earth Forces clearly superior to our own GINNs, we must start equipping our best combat units with the new machines immediately to counteract this new threat."

Wu scowled. He had no other choice. "Very well then. Those in favor of giving the first of the GuAIZs to the 11th Autonomous Mobile fleet."

Most of the Council raised their hands in favor. There was no way around it now. If it were up to him, he'd have the entire fleet locked up just for their traitorous actions at Panama. But the majority of the National Defense Committee had decided that they should be rewarded for their skills, ignoring their actions completely. It infuriated Wu. Ian Kessel had fled before they could arrest him. He couldn't touch his wife, Admiral Sarah Kessel, without indisputable proof that she was a traitor. And now the man's daughter and successor to that infuriating John Alaric was being rewarded for a blatant act of treason! Where was the justice in that?

Perhaps it was time to have Creuset manipulate the evidence and remove Diana Kessel once and for all and replace her with someone more willing to see their side of the picture.

And destroy the 7th Fleet as well…

* * *

_Port Panama_

_The Next Day_

"The incident at Panama was regrettable and deeply disturbing. But this board has determined that there was no way for any one of you to prevent such situation from occurring or stopping it once started. As for Commanders Kessel, White, the 7th Independent Mobile Fleet and the 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet actions in defending the surrendering soldiers against our own forces, it was the only option that could have taken to minimize the loss of life. Therefore, there shall be no disciplinary actions taken against Commanders Le Creuset, White and Kessel, or the 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet and 7th Fleet." the Admiral declared. "Furthermore, due to the sheer number of soldiers participating in the unauthorized execution of surrendering Earth Alliance soldiers and our heavy losses at JOSH-A, there will be no disciplinary actions taken for this incident."

Diana wasn't surprised. As the Admiral had said, their forces were too depleted and with those that took part in the massacre, too many to punish. They'd have to punish just about every soldier in the field at the time. That was a lot of men and women to punish. To properly punish them, would likely cripple ZAFT fighting strength on Earth. And after the near disaster at JOSH-A, they were barely able to maintain their holdings here on Earth. If the Earth Forces could rapidly mass produce their new mobile suits in large numbers, they would easily overrun the ZAFT bases on Earth. They'd retake the Mass Drivers of Victoria and Kaohsiung relatively quickly. That would result in moving the center stage of the war to space. To ZAFT's front yard. They needed every soldier in their armed forces fighting, if they were to have any chance of winning the war now.

"Though, on a personal note, I must admit that the willingness of our own forces to kill defenseless Earth Alliance soldiers, troubles me greatly. We are soldiers. ZAFT soldiers. We do not engage in such savagery. Even if the Earth Forces themselves do it." Admiral Thule added. "I officially declare this matter closed."

All three Commanders saluted, waiting for the salute to be returned and for them to be dismissed. "Before you go, Commander Kessel. It's been requested by the Defense Committee, that you and the 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet are to return to the homeland to receive the first of our new mass production mobile suits." the Admiral said, saluting the pair. "Congratulations Commander. Dismissed."

"Indeed. Congratulations Kessel." Creuset said, offering his hand to her.

Diana stared at him for a moment before reluctantly shaking his hand. She didn't believe a word the man had said the previous day. She then headed for the exit. She had no desire to be near that masked snake any longer than she had to. As with the day before, her subordinates were once again waiting outside for her.

"So what's our punishment?" Ajay asked as she exited the room.

"They're giving us new mobile suits fresh off the assembly line."

"Damn. That means I got to get use to a whole new machine now." Ajay complained. "Couldn't they have just locked us up or something?"

Diana ignored his complaints. "Inform the men that we'll be heading out soon. And that we'll be returning to the homeland to receive our new mobile suits." she ordered. "Lucius, contact Lee and the rest of the Fleet. Tell them that we'll be taking the Kaohsiung Mass Driver to return to space and that I'll contact him with more details once I've secured our means of transportation."

"Sir!" the four officers said before carrying out her orders.

Tao watched as Commander Kessel left with her officers. "So, what about us? Are we being punished?" Heidi asked.

"No, we aren't. Considering what happened, I am surprised." She replied as she faced them. "It was not worth all of that bloodshed. JOSH-A wasn't even wiped out!" she snarled as her fists clenched tightly.

Commander Wolfe just remained silent as Heidi gritted her teeth. "ZAFT has really gone off the deep-end now…" she remarked.

Neither of the other two bothered to disagree with her statement.

* * *

_Onogoro Island_

"Are you ready for this?" Chris asked.

"Not really." Kira replied. "You?"

"About the same. But we have to do this." Chris said. "This sure makes all of our previous battles seem like a cakewalk."

Kira nodded. "Yeah."

"Well then. Let's do this."

Chris rang the doorbell. A minute later, the door opened, revealing Tolle's mother. She looked terrible. Her hair was a mess and her clothes weren't much better. Her face was pale with dark bags under her eyes. Though she wasn't crying, there were tear trails running down her face. "Hello Mrs. Koenig." Chris quietly greeted. "May we come in."

She stared at them for a moment, but she didn't quite seem to register them initially. She seemed to be partially in shock. She nodded. "Come in." she said, her voice quiet and tired.

The two teens entered the house and followed her into the living room. Tolle's mother slumped down in chair, her hands griping a picture frame that seen in her hands until this moment. They couldn't see the picture in the frame but there was no doubt that it was of Tolle. Her eyes were lock on the picture, almost as though she was trying to will her son back to life. Both Kira and Chris felt fresh waves of guilt. They both had been there. If only they hadn't been distracted by their own personal battles, one of them could have saved Tolle. But they had failed and one of their friends paid the price for it.

The two of them sat down on the couch across from the chair. "We came by to deliver Tolle's personal affects." Kira said, holding up the bag of Tolle's clothes. "And to apologize for Tolle's death."

She didn't look up from the picture. "Why? Why did he have to go out and fight in this wretched war?" she asked, her voice cracked and on the verge of becoming sobs.

Kira and Chris paused, unsure of what to say. There wasn't anything they could say to make it better. So in the end, Chris spoke. Simply saying the truth of the matter. "Tolle wouldn't have gotten involved in this war if it wasn't for us."

Tolle's mother looked up at him, as did Kira. He continued, his tone bitter and dejected. "All he wanted to do was help us out...He didn't want for us to be the only ones baring the burden of protecting everyone on the ship. He fought because he wanted to help us."

Kira bowed his head in shame. "He died trying to save me from the person I was fighting." Kira added, his tone the same as Chris's and unable to look Tolle's mother in the eyes.

Chris sighed. "We never should have let him-"

"I understand." she quietly said. "You were Tolle's friends. And he wasn't the kind of person to let his friends bare a burden by themselves. I never blamed either of you for Tolle's death. Please, I need to be alone right now."

Both boys stared at the woman. "Please leave." she said again, this time louder as tears started to roll down her eyes.

The teens nodded. "If that's what you want, then we'll leave." Kira replied.

He and Chris stood up and quietly left the house. "Well. All things considering, that went fairly well." Chris commented once they were outside.

"Well? Really?"

"Yeah. I kinda expected that she was going to scream at us after we told her. Maybe even throw something at us." Chris answered. "But you never know how someone is going to react in that situation."

"I suppose you're right. Well, I guess we better be heading back to the _Archangel_ now."

"Nah. You can, but I'm gonna go for a stroll for a while. I need to clear my head." Chris replied, walking away from Kira.

"But Miss Murrue said that we weren't-"

But Chris cut him off. "Don't worry about it. If she gets mad, it'll be on my head, not yours. Besides, I'm not gonna start blabbing that I'm a mobile suit pilot from the _Archangel._ In fact, most probably don't even know the name of the ship." he said, still walking away.

Kira, seeing no other option, shrugged and headed back to the _Archangel_.

Chris wanted some time just to think. He hadn't really things since Alaska. When this whole thing started at Heliopolis, everything had been so simple. Protect the ship from ZAFT. Then Zane returned to his life, completely changed. Gone was the pacifist that believed that Naturals and Coordinators could live peacefully together. In his place, was a teen driven by pain, anger and grief. A teen who seemed to hate everyone. He knowingly shot down a civilian shuttle, proclaiming that there was no such thing as innocence in the human race. Chris had no idea what happened to him after the Bloody Valentine, but it couldn't have been good. He honestly wasn't sure what he was going to do about Zane ultimately. Was there anything left of the person he had once been? If he had no other choice, would he be able to kill him?

Then there was Flay. That had been really complicated. Now he admitted that he had been at least physically attracted to her before the destruction of Heliopolis. But then again, just about any guy would be attracted to her. Until he started spending time with her. Every changed after that. When he had first felt truly in love with her, he didn't know. Hell, he could have been in love with her from start but only recently realized it. Whatever it was, it didn't matter. He loved her and she loved him. That was all that mattered.

He wondered where she was right now. Mu had said that he left her in the line for their sub at JOSH-A. The sub had been bound for California. So she could be there. Or she could have been transferred to somewhere else after arriving there. But she was safe. He knew that. Sutherland had said that she would be useful as a propaganda tool than a soldier. Which meant that she wouldn't be anywhere near the fighting. She'd be safe no matter what happened. And she had some of the good luck too.

Akira's betrayal really stuck out at him though. He had been determined to see people pay for what happened to his sister, mainly Blue Cosmos. Yet, there had been some signs that he did not hate all Naturals. For instance, Aki' had tried to save Flay from Garcia back at Artemis. He had not aimed the gun at Flay, but rather at Garcia instead. But his fights against Nisha had been brutal each time the two had met in combat. Still, he had tried to avoid killing Nisha, so maybe he was beginning to see things from a different perspective.

Finally, there was the Earth Alliance's recent actions at JOSH-A. Now he didn't blame the Alliance for the Bloody Valentine. That was the work of Blue Cosmos, not the Alliance. And he had to admit, after fighting for the Alliance, he had felt sympathetic for them. Most would think that a Coordinator like him should favor ZAFT. But after seeing the Earth Alliance forces being wiped out time and time again by smaller ZAFT forces, it was hard to feel any sympathy for them. Especially considering that ZAFT was practically blaming the entire Alliance for Junius Seven. Some were even blaming all of the Naturals for it. That didn't sit right with him. It was the same as Blue Cosmos's rhetoric.

But then JOSH-A happened. And everything changed. The Advanced European Union, which had at first seemed to be a desperate nation within the Earth Alliance trying to protect their people. Now they were like Blue Cosmos. Willing to do anything to ensure their victory over ZAFT and to increase their own power in the Alliance.

He wandered around for about fifteen minutes when he reached ORB's biggest and most crowded shopping district. He slowly moved through the throngs of people when he bumped into a girl. The girl fell down to the ground, the bags she was carrying, spilled their contents all over the place. "Sorry about that." he said, helping the girl get back on her feet.

The girl appeared to no older than thirteen. She had short brown hair and matching brown eyes. "No. It's my fault. I wasn't watching were I was going." she replied as she started to gather up all of the stuff she had bought.

"Here. Let me give you a hand." Chris said, kneeing down to help her pick up her stuff.

A moment later, Chris grabbed the last fallen item, a pink cell phone. He was about to hand it to her when a voice called out, "Mayu!"

Both turned to the source of the voice. A black haired, red eyed teen. A year, maybe two, older than the girl. He appeared to be searching for her. "Shinn! Over here!" the girl shouted, waving a hand in the air.

The boy ran up to them. "Come on Mayu. It's time to go."

"Alright Shinn." She turned to Chris. "Thanks for giving me a hand, Mr..."

Chris smiled. "Christopher Dante. But just call me Chris."

"I'm Mayu Asuka."

"Mayu. We have to go." the boy said in an annoyed tone.

"Alright, alright Shinn. I'm coming."

She started to walk towards her brother. "Wait! You forgot this." Chris said, raising her cell phone up.

Mayu grabbed the phone. "Thanks!" she shouted as she left with her brother.

Chris gave a small wave as she left. A normal life. He had forgotten what life was like without the war. He missed it. As much as he grown to love piloting the Raven, he missed being a normal teenager. But something told him, he would never have a normal life again. At least not as it was before Heliopolis's destruction.

* * *

_Archangel_

Nisha stood outside the ship, the wind teasing his hair as he looked up at the sky. There was a distant look in his eyes as he stared at the passing clouds.

Closing his eyes, he gritted his teeth as he thought about that hearing back at JOSH-A. He hadn't been expecting the ones in charge of it to be so biased! If they had had the chance, those nutjobs would have probably arrested him, Chris, and Liz for just even _existing_ and shot them in front of the entire crew! The three Coordinators were lucky in that JOSH-A had been in NASA territory, otherwise their rights would not have been upheld. Well, his rights anyway…

"Damn them! Why does that damn terrorist group have to hate Coordinators? Are we _that_ inhuman to them, so inhuman that they have to hunt us down and kill us like wild animals?!" Nisha snarled as he slammed a fist against the side of the ship.

It did not help that he was on an Earth Alliance ship and one of their soldiers to boot. Well, former soldier now, considering how they had defected from the Earth Forces in the first place.

He did not hear Liz until she was right beside him. "You okay, Nisha?"

Nisha looked up, staring into Liz's green eyes. "Huh? Oh. No, I'm not okay." He replied.

"Those bastards that held that hearing, they were Blue Cosmos. Judging by the way they were talking about and looking at us, well, me and Chris, they wanted to arrest us and shoot us right then and there, all because we were _existing_ as normal human beings!" he snarled as he clenched his fists. "All because they refuse to get to even _know_ a Coordinator!"

Liz just looked down. She had heard of the hearing and felt bad for Nisha. "It's hard…not having people trust you."

"Yeah."

Liz looked up again, facing Nisha. "It's just that, well, _you're_ an American Citizen. An American Coordinator! How can the Earth Forces not trust _you_?!" she exclaimed. "They did not trust Chris and me because we are from the _PLANTs_, not Earth like you are!"

Nisha just glanced at her before speaking. "Look, Liz. The Earth Forces did not see an American Coordinator or American citizen. All they saw was a Coordinator, that's it. No American citizen, no U.S. civilian. All I was to them was a Coordinator who lived up in space, even if I lived in a neutral colony like Heliopolis. And New Juneau? To them, it's just a PLANT, not a U.S. state. They cannot see that my nation, my _home_, does not see Naturals or Coordinators. All America sees is human beings. But to the Earth Forces, that is only reserved for the _deserving_ race, the Naturals." He growled, spitting out the word 'deserving' like a bitter fruit.

Liz looked stunned as she backed away a few steps. "Nisha…"

Nisha saw her startled expression and immediately felt bad. "Liz, I'm sorry for that." He said, a look of guilt now on his face. "It's just that, when you have grown up in a nation like America, you encounter all sorts of people. Most are good people who believe Coordinators are just a human as anyone else, but there are those who believe that Naturals are the true humans, and then there are those who believe what Hong Fa Wu says, that Coordinators are the true humans. It just hurts when someone says that you are not human, and in fact you are."

Liz stared at him, surprised at his past experiences. "So, is that why you hated that hearing?"

"Yes. It is. I had been told that by a few people before we moved to Heliopolis ten years ago. I will never forget the look of rage my father had when I told him about it." Nisha then laughed a bit. "He was so mad that he punched the father of the person who had told me that, as that person's father was a Blue Cosmos supporter. There was a small fight before cops were called and broke it up. And when they found out what the cause was, they arrested the father and charged him with a hate crime!"

Liz stared before she shook her head and sighed, a small laugh escaping her as she did so. "Sounds like the police had their hands full with that, eh?"

"You bet they did! The man tried to punch out a cop who just so happened to be a Coordinator, which landed him a charge of assaulting a police officer to boot!"

A laugh busted out of Liz, making her nearly double over as she tried to remain standing.

"Oh man! That one is rich! Giving himself more charges on top of the one he already had! What an idiot!" she laughed as she tried to stand upright.

Nisha also laughed, finding the incident funny even after it had occurred.

It was just a peaceful moment, one that he hoped would never end…

* * *

_Washington D.C._

"So, with that decided, we should prepare for an Alliance attack in case they try to take over our Mass Driver." President Hilson said as her team gathered in the Joint Operations Room underneath the White House.

"You do realize that the Earth Alliance will not take such a thing lying down, right?" Vice-President Young asked.

His boss looked right back at him. "I am well aware of that. I might not have the political training that you all have, but I can tell when someone will try to attack due to my time in the armed forces." She replied.

Defense Secretary John Keller nodded. "That is true. Out of all of us here in this room, you do lack the political training and instincts. However, a soldier's instincts can be applied to politics as well. But that aside, you are right. We need to prepare for the worst case scenario."

Many others in the room agreed. Murmurs of agreement moved around the room as many of the assembled government workers looked in the president's direction.

"We agree that the North American Security Alliance should prepare for any Earth Alliance movements that may lead to an attack. However, we would need to issue an ultimatum to them and ZAFT both if either of them tries anything hostile." Secretary of State Helen Nelson replied.

"Agreed. An ultimatum will force both sides to consider the actions that they are about to take. But what worries me is that both sides may take it too lightly and consider us to not be much of a threat. And given our current economic situation, they would be right to brush us aside." President Hilson said as everyone glanced back at her. "That is why we need you to give us permission to repeal Executive Order 88742610."

Everyone in the room stared at her before an outcry of rage was heard. "Are you crazy?! That order was put in place by your predecessor to prevent the PLANTs from finding out that we have nuclear power still!" Secretary Nelson exclaimed.

"No. She is right." Everyone looked to Defense Secretary Keller in shock. "If we don't repeal the executive order soon, then we have no chance of overcoming both the PLANTs _and_ the Earth Alliance."

Murmuring swept across the room, but it appeared to be in consensus with the idea. Finally, Secretary Nelson spoke up. "Very well. You have the vote of confidence to repeal said order. As of right now, you, President Marie Hilson of the United States, have permission to repeal Executive Order 88746210."

"Thank you. But one more obstacle stands in our way of returning to full operational status. Mexico and Canada have to agree to such a move as well. If both refuse it, then we are stuck at the status we are currently at." President Hilson said, making many look down in disappointment.

"_However_, that does not mean that it can't be done. As the leader of the Alliance, I have the ability to override both if I deem the situation is needed." President Hilson added. Many looked back up in shock, but relieved at the same time.

"Now, we need to prepare for an Alliance attack if it is coming soon."

* * *

_Earth Alliance _Spengler_-Class Carrier, the _Powell

_Outside ORB Territorial Waters_

_One Week Later_

"The neutral nation of ORB. What a detestable nation." Captain Oswald commented, staring out at the ORB mainland. "Bring the fleet to a full stop."

"Sir." the comm officer said before relaying his orders to the entire fleet.

Azrael smiled as the fleet came to stop. ORB hadn't mobilized their forces yet. They knew what was coming and were merely gathering their strength. But it would be pointless in the end. "It's time to give them our ultimatum." the smug director said.

"Do you really think ORB will submit?" Oswald asked.

"Not likely with Uzumi Nara Athha in charge. No. They'll fight. To the bitter, bloody end." Azrael replied, the grin never leaving his face for a second.

Oswald turned to Azrael. "What's the status on those new machines of yours?"

"The mobile suits will be ready for tomorrow. And the doctors have assured me that the pilots will as well."

The Captain grunted. "I don't like the idea of giving our four new mobile suits to a group of science experiments. They should be given to our aces, not those freaks."

"I need I remind you that because of ZAFT's technological superiority, most of our aces are dead." Azrael said. "Besides, most of our aces couldn't hope to match their abilities."

Azrael was so very pleased with himself. His plans were going off without a hitch. Everything was falling into place. Soon Athha would be removed and ORB's Mass Driver, along with Morgenroete and its technology, would be theirs. And if the attack on NASA went just as well, then even _their_ Mass Driver would be theirs. Then all that would be left, would be to deal with the PLANTs and the Coordinator threat once and for all.

* * *

_NASA, Washington D.C._

"People of NASA, as of today, Executive Order 88742610 has been repealed."

Those words rang out across the nation as many began to celebrate. The Executive Order that many had wanted removed was now repealed, giving them the option to bring all of their factories on stand-by back into full operation.

At long last, the United States could finally reveal its true power to the world, and to the industrial might that was Logos/Blue Cosmos!

* * *

Akira defects from ZAFT and heads down to ORB to aid in the fight against the Earth Forces while ZAFT investigates the massacre at Panama and as the Earth Forces begin to invade ORB. But NASA is lurking in the shadows, plotting and biding their time while they gather strength.

On that note, any flames or troll reviews **_WILL_** be reported and/or deleted depending on if they are signed or not. Those kinds of reviews are **_NOT_** tolerated by **ANY** means. If there **are** such reviews, they **WILL** be reported, not even responded to or acknowledged.


	26. Phase 25: Lands of War

Phase Twenty-Five: Land of War

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. Nor do I own Martin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: I am glad you like the story so much! :3 And trust me, there **_will_** be an alteration to the fate of Shinn's family... ;3**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :)**

**A0930: Okay, I did a double update last weekend for obvious reasons, but now I am slipping back into once a week. You will like the next chapters, I am sure. :3**

**nbm:** PLEASE** use a consistent guest name! Geez... But I am glad you still like it. But I want to know **_WHAT_** you love about it, not just that you like it, even though I like hearing that as well.**

**Just a Crazy Man: Glad you like it. :)**

**gagasgumilang208: I will see about doing that. :)**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those with an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you are a guest without an account, **PLEASE** put a **CONSISTENT** guest name. Thanks!**

* * *

_C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…_

* * *

_The Archangel's Brig_

"So, you think we're ever gonna get out of here?" Saul asked.

Nicol shrugged. "Not sure. Actually, I've lost count of how long we've been in here."

"Same here." Saul replied. "What about you Dearka?"

"Hey don't look at me. I haven't been counting days at all."

The door at the end of the hall opened and a girl in an Earth Forces uniform and pushing a cart, entered. Saul glanced through the bars of his cell at the girl. "Uh oh... Dearka, it's that crazy knife girl." he said. "You better hide before she tries to cut you up again."

Miriallia ignored him as she walked to Dearka's cell. She entered the code and opened the cell. "So, questioning or prison transfer?" Dearka asked.

"Neither." Miri quietly replied, grabbing Dearka's flightsuit from the cart and tossing it at him. "This ship is going into battle again because the Earth Forces are attacking ORB."

The ZAFT pilots were all surprised by this. Why would the Earth Forces attack a neutral nation like ORB? It didn't make any sense. She left his cell and unlocked Saul's and Nicol's cells, and returned their flightsuits. "The Captain said you're all free to go." she added before leaving.

The three ZAFT Red Coats stepped out of their cells, looked at each other for moment, and then rushed out after Miri. "Wait!" Dearka called out. "What did you mean by that?"

But the girl didn't stop walking, so they followed after her. "Exactly what told I you." Miri said.

Nicol shook his head in disbelief. "But that's crazy! Why would they invade ORB?"

"They want ORB's Mass Driver since they've lost Panama. And ORB has refused to join the Earth Alliance." Miri answered. "The Earth Forces will be attacking soon and the _Archangel_ is staying to fight for ORB. When the fighting starts outside, things are going to get chaotic, so all of you had better get off the island while you can."

"But how are we supposed to get off of ORB?" Saul asked.

"That's not my problem. Take one of the boats evacuating the civilians if you want."

"Hey! What about my Buster?" Dearka asked.

"And my Surge?"

"Those were ours to begin with. Morgenroete has them now." Miri answered.

"Aw man... And I liked that machine too. No way am I going back to a GINN." Saul complained.

But Dearka ignored him. He reached out and grabbed the girl's arm, stopping her. "Are you going to be fighting as well?"

"I better be. I'm in charge of the _Archangel_'s CIC." Miri shot back as she pulled out of his grip. "And besides, ORB is my homeland."

* * *

_ORB Military Headquarters_

_An Hour Later_

General Samuel Dante walked through the corridors of ORB's Military Headquarters, his mind focused on the battle to come. Lord Uzumi had appointed him in charge of ORB's defense, a task that he couldn't and wouldn't fail. Over the last several days, they had planned and prepared for the incoming invasion. Though in the end, he knew they could never hope to beat the Earth Forces' numbers. Truthfully, deep down, everyone knew they couldn't win. But beating the Alliance wasn't what he sought in this battle. What he sought was to give the Earth Forces a mauling that they would never forget. They may conquer ORB, but every foot they claimed would cost them greatly. As he entered the command center, everyone inside stopped what they were doing and saluted him. Save for the only non-soldier present, Cagalli. "At ease." he said, returning the salute. "What's the status of our forces?"

"All defense forces are in position and awaiting orders sir." an officer answered.

"The civilian evacuation?"

"Approximately forty-four percent of civilian population has been evacuated sir. Another flotilla of ships will be leaving within the hour, with an additional twenty percent of the population. The rest of the population should be evacuated by dusk sir. Should we move a unit to provide cover for them, sir?"

Samuel let out a quiet sigh as he leaned on the edge of the massive display table. Dusk was hours away. A third of ORB's population stuck on the island while a battle raged on... That did not sit well with him. "No. They'll be safer if we keep our units away from the civilian docks. Pass the order to our forces to stay away from the evacuation sites unless they come under attack." Samuel grimly replied, moving from the table. "Patch me through to all of ORB's defense forces."

"Yes sir." one of the comm officers said.

He picked up a headset. "This is General Samuel Dante to all ORB Defense Forces. As you know, an Earth Alliance fleet is approaching ORB. Their goal is to force us to submit to them, one way or another. The ORB government has refused to submit to them and they are coming to conquer ORB." Samuel said to the defenders. "I know many of you are wondering why we shouldn't just submit to the Earth Alliance and save ourselves from the approaching storm. But if we sided with the Earth Forces, than it would only be a matter of time before ZAFT attacked us. And if we joined ZAFT, the Earth Forces would attack us. Regardless of what we do, we will be attacked. The only difference is by whom we will be attacked by."

* * *

Kira sat in cockpit of the Freedom as it stood on the Archangel's port catapult as he listened to the broadcast. On the starboard catapult, the Exia stood. Behind them, the Strike, the Farsight II and the Dynames stood. All of them were waiting for the order to launch. A part of Kira still found this whole situation a shock. Of all the places that he thought that could become a battlefield, ORB had to be at the bottom of the list. But then, so had Heliopolis.

"Hard to believe that a few months ago, we were just students living in Heliopolis. It seems more like a lifetime ago." Chris commented. "Who could have guested that we would have ended up caught in the middle of this whole thing?"

"_Instead of submitting, we will declare in one loud voice; NO! We will not submit to those that wish to use us to fight their enemies and their battles! We will not abandon our ideals! We will not attack another nation! Will not allow another nation to attack us! And will not get involved in the conflicts of other nations! These beliefs are what ORB was founded on! To abandon those beliefs is to abandon ORB itself!"_

Kira nodded. _"Yeah. I never thought I'd ever pilot a mobile suit. And yet here I am, sitting in the cockpit of a mobile suit."_

"The most powerful mobile suit out there. Well, aside from Wing Zero that is." Chris added. "I sure don't envy you. You get shot down and it will pretty much take us all out. So be careful out there. I don't want to end up dead or glowing in the dark."

Kira chuckled at the comment. _"Don't worry. I'll be careful out there."_

_"Hey, don't leave me out!"_ Nisha exclaimed over the com-line. Everyone just laughed before Heero spoke up.

_"We need to make a stand here. Otherwise the Earth Alliance will gain the upper hand in the war. They wish to oppress this nation, and that is the biggest mistake they will ever make."_ He replied.

"What do you mean, Heero?" Chris asked.

_"To me, a Gundam represents two things: Freedom to the oppressed, and death to the oppressors. There is no way that I will die before I give up to anyone who wishes to do so."_

John was impressed by what Heero said, if not a little doubtful. Still he let it slide.

"_The Alliance thinks that they can bully a small nation like us into submission. And that even if we stand up to them, they can crush us beneath their boot heel. They do not know what they have awakened. We shall show them ORB's strength! We shall make them pay dearly for every inch of ORB soil! So much so, that when this battle is over, they won't forget what we did here! They won't forget the mauling they received from the small, neutral nation of ORB!"_

_"Alright everyone. This is going to be a long and difficult battle to say the least, even for us." _John sighed before adding. _"What I wouldn't give to have my 11th Fleet here."_

_"Yeah. I wouldn't mind having their help out here either. Same with the 7th Fleet"_ Mu said. _"Though I have to wonder if they'd really make a difference here."_

_"Don't underestimate them. Their presence on the field would have scared many of the Earth Forces pilots without having to fire off a shot."_ John replied. _"And a panicking enemy is a careless enemy."_

_"It just means more work for us."_ Liz said, joining the conservation.

John nodded. _"That's true. As I said before, this will be long and difficult. So be careful and stay focused out. And good luck out there."_

* * *

"I will not lie to you. We are outnumbered a hundred to one. Each of you will have to be an army in your own right if ORB is to survive. But never forget that you are all fighting for the safety and future of your families, and the future of ORB itself! May the blessing of Haumea be upon us all as we prepare to wage this terrible battle! For the future of ORB, it's ideals and its people!"

Cheers and shouts echoing his words filled the comm channel. Samuel closed his eyes as he closed the comm line. A lot of people were going to die today. Hopefully, it would be only the soldiers of ORB and the Alliance. But there still many, many civilians fleeing ORB. And as long as they were still on Onogoro, they were in danger. Samuel opened his eyes, his face locked in grim determination. "Have the First Defense Fleet engage the Earth Alliance Fleet at close range." he ordered, knowing that he just sent many of those men and women to their deaths.

But there was no other choice. They had to delay the Alliance Fleet from closing in on Onogoro for as long as possible. If they could force the advancing Earth Forces into a narrow funnel around the First Fleet for a while, they could thin out their numbers before they reached the mainland. And maybe they'd get lucky and manage to take out a carrier or two before they could deploy most of their mobile suit complement.

Samuel turned to one of the comm screens. "Keep the _Archangel_ with the rest of the fleet within the harbor, Captain. It won't be long before the bulk of the Earth Force's fleet breaks through the fleet they're engaging and hit the harbor." he said.

Murrue nodded. _"Yes sir."_

"Lieutenant La Flaga, Mr. Alaric, Nisha, Liz, I want you four to spread yourselves out amongst the Astrays and other ground units, providing whatever support you can. Kira, you and Heero are the most powerful weapons we have. I need you two to stay on the move, shoring up areas that start to buckle under the strain of the Alliance's attack. Chris, you will be in close-combat, so be careful."

"Sir, incoming transport planes! They're dropping mobile suits!"

"Have all AA guns target the planes. You as well Chris." Samuel ordered. "We need to stop as many of them as possible from dropping their mobile suits."

"Sir, Earth Forces warships and mobile suits are slipping past the First Fleet!"

Samuel turned to the map display table. As expected, while a portion of the Earth Alliance flotilla were engaging the ORB Fleet several miles off Onogoro's shore, warships, carriers and mobile suits were maneuvering around the fleets and heading for the mainland. "The remaining vessels and coastal batteries are to focus on the advancing forces while the Astrays and remaining defenders are to focus on the mobile suits that reach the mainland."

* * *

_NASA east coast, U.S.A._

"Ma'am, we have incoming Earth Forces warships! They're from the AEU's Fifth Fleet!" a male officer shouted. His superior officer looked up in surprise, but not shock. NASA had been expecting such an attack, but not so soon, especially after Executive Order 88742610 had been repealed no less.

She looked out at the fleet that was mobilizing to defend the NASA coast. Ships of all sizes and functions were moving out, but she knew that against the large numbers of Strike Daggers, they would be of little help. Those ships carrying the mobile suits would land on the coast and overrun the entire coastal area. But that was if they didn't have the Traverses. With those machines, there was no way that they would fall so easily.

"Prepare to have the Traverse Squadrons move out! Have them take up ambush positions anywhere they can. Have Czech hedgehogs set up as anti-tank defenses to block any and all streets. As soon as they pick up the IFF of the Strike Daggers, they are to open fire at will!" the woman ordered as the soldier saluted crisply.

"Yes ma'am!"

As the man left, a news clip began to play, revealing President Hilson herself.

_"All United States, Mexico and Canada soldiers. As you know, the Earth Alliance has launched an attack, not just on ORB, but on us as well. That is a big mistake. As I'm sure you're all aware, the Executive Order 88742610 has been repealed, and an attack by the Earth Forces after we have done such a thing equals greater recovery abilities, as all of our factories are now back in production. As such, the Earth Forces attacking us are going to learn the hard way that we will never back down, we will never give in, and we will not fail in our mission!"_

Soldiers ran about, preparing for the coming invasion, listening all the while.

_"Our nation has been invaded only a few times during its long history, but each time, we had the home-field advantage. This time is no exception. The Earth Forces will come to regret their decision to invade us, and in more ways than one. We will fight in the streets, we will fight in the fields, we will fight in the open deserts and oceans, and in the skies! We will defend our home, and we will never let them have our Mass Driver!"_

People looked on as they were moved inland to shelters built underground and into the mountains. They knew that an attack was likely, and wanted to do what they could to help, but only the armed forces could, so all they could do was hope for the best.

_"The Earth Alliance has no idea of what they have awakened, in both military and economic might! We _will_ regain our position of superpower and put an end to this pointless war once and for all! If ZAFT wishes to attack us for cutting all ties with them as allies, then so be it! We will do the same thing we will do to the Earth Forces! We will drive them back and make them learn why we are a nation and alliance to be respected and feared! No one will make us submit to them, under any circumstances! To submit is to give up on America's ideals, the very ideals that made us famous in the human rights arena! All men and women are created equal and are endowed with inalienable rights! All people have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness! And all people are protected by the United States Constitution! We will never let those ideals be threatened by the Earth Forces! If the Earth Alliance wants to remove those very rights from the Coordinators living here in the United States, then they will have to do it the hard way: by fighting us and conquering us if they have the guts to do so!"_

Civilians cheered the president as she continued her speech.

_"For all of America, and for the entire WORLD, we will never submit! God bless us, god bless the world, and god bless AMERICA!"_

Cheers all over the nation erupted as both civilian and military personnel felt her energy and drive to protect the nation that they all called home.

America was never going to fall!

* * *

_ORB_

_Earth Alliance Spengler-Class Carrier, the Powell_

The four Biological CPUs entered the hanger where their mobile suits and the doctors with their drugs were waiting. Each took their vial and downed the contents. Martin put on his red and black helmet and entered the Massacre's cockpit, starting up the mobile suit as his 'teammates' did the same.

At that moment, Azrael's face appeared on their main screens. _"Say boys..."_

Orga looked up at his display screen. "What?"

_"Now remember boys, don't destroy Morgenroete or the Mass Driver."_ Azrael ordered. _"Understand?"_

_"But we can destroy anything else, right?"_ Shani asked.

Azrael simply nodded.

_"Oh yeah!"_ a pleased Clotho said.

"Time for some fun." Martin added, gripping the Massacre's controls as a grin spread across his lips.

_"Why don't you guys shut up."_ Orga said as the Powell's mobile suit hold doors opened. The Forbidden and the Massacre launched first, heading for Onogoro. The Raider followed, transforming into its mobile armor mode. Then the Calamity launched, quickly landing on the Raider, using it as a flight platform. The four machines streaked towards Onogoro.

Unlike the Strike Daggers, which were maneuvering around the battling naval fleets, the four Biological CPUs tore right through them. The Forbidden's scythe sliced through the bridge of an ORB battleship. The Massacre's beam Gatling guns and head mounted beam cannon tore through another ORB warship, igniting its forward ammo magazine. The vessel exploded in a great ball of fire.

"Well what do we have here?" Orga said, aiming at the _Archangel._

"Incoming mobile suits!" Chandra shouted.

"Evade them!" Murrue ordered.

Orga fired the Calamity's Schlag cannons and Todesblock bazooka at the white battleship. But the _Archangel_ managed to move out of the beams' path. "Figures. You missed." Clotho said, flipping the Raider. "Now get off so I can show you how it's done!"

The Calamity fell off the Raider, landing on, and crushing, the bridge of an ORB battleship. Clotho transformed the Raider back into its mobile suit mode and landed in front of the _Archangel_'s bridge. He raised the Raider's Mjolnir hammer, to drive it into the bridge, but just before it could hit it, the Freedom slammed into the Raider, knocking it into the sea.

At that very moment, the Forbidden appeared, firing it's railguns at the Freedom. Kira evaded the shots and fired back with his beam rifle. But to his surprise, the Forbidden's Geschmeidig Panzer pack dropped down. The beam harmless bounced off the shields. Shani snickered as the pack returned to its original position and he lunged forward, swinging his scythe at the Freedom. Kira managed to pulled the Freedom back just in time, the scythe missing him by a few feet. _'These guys aren't ordinary pilots.'_ Kira thought as he dodged wild scythe swings. _'Definitely aces. And in new machines too. I've got to careful with them.'_

Kira fired again on the Forbidden. But again, Shani managed to deflect them with his Geschmeidig Panzer system and fired off his plasma induction cannon. Kira banked to the right, only to see the beam curve towards him. Kira cursed as the Freedom shot up, avoiding the beam.

_'A curving beam? An energy deflection system! And this is just one of those four new machines!'_ he thought. _'If the other three are anything like this one, then we're all trouble.'_

* * *

_NASA_

Strike Daggers landed on the shores of New York and Maine, forcing the defenders back. The older model GMs were useful in driving back the Strike Daggers, but only for a short time before the pilots began to become overwhelmed. In response to that, the Traverses were deployed as the GM pilots made their retreat inland. The Daggers followed them, certain that victory was coming.

"We need to hold the line!" a pilot shouted as she opened fire with her GM's beam rifle, like it would do much good. The only real weapon NASA had against the Strike Daggers was the Traverses. With the armor on those things, there was little that could actually damage them.

_"Understood!"_ Her male counterpart replied as he slashed at a Strike Dagger with his machine's beam saber. The sword was met with the Dagger's shield as sparks flew from the impact point.

Strike Daggers were taking out GMs with one Dagger going down for every two GMs that they took out. It was an uneven fight, but they had to defend the coast-line!

People were being evacuated to the shelters, whether they were civilian or military personnel. All Coordinators were being sent to the shelters for their own safety. And into space if it every came down to it.

_"This place will be easy to take over! All they have are old GMs!"_ A Dagger pilot exclaimed as he and his squadron made their way over to the city of New York.

_"Yeah! All they can do is run for it!"_ another added as he took out a GM's arm. The machine exploded, older components finally giving out. The man laughed, only for it to be cut short by a beam cannon blast through his machine's torso. _"We-"_

The Dagger blew up, making the other squadron members look over behind a building. The end of a tank turret was visible, giving away what had fired that shot. "So, we have a tank here, eh? Not gonna do much good against us!" the lead pilot sneered as he aimed the beam rifle at the so-called 'tank' turret.

In response to that, another beam shot hit his machine on the shield, forcing the lead pilot to glance back. In the distance, a tank-like machine stood behind another building. The machine aimed the cannon again, and fired. Two Daggers got hit, one in the torso, and another on the arm, making the limb blow off.

"What the hell?!" the lead pilot fired on the tank-machine, only to miss the machine's turret, which moved backwards to prevent it from being blown off.

_"Sir, I don't think those are simple GMs…"_ a pilot whimpered as another Dagger was hit. The machine exploded, making the squadron move back.

"Ya think?!" the leader exclaimed.

_"Those are the Traverses! They can match ZAFT's machines _and_ ours! Those things are much more advanced than even our Daggers!"_ another pilot blurted out. _"Those things have beam cannons _on_ them! And they have missiles as well!"_

This made the squadron leader frown. "Damn…"

* * *

_ORB_

The Exia's GN Vulcan fired, tearing through a transport plane, destroying it and its complement of Strike Daggers. "Another plane down." Chris grimly said as the plane's fiery remains fell to earth.

For every plane he or the ORB defenders shot down, another managed to drop at least half of its payload, which meant dozens of Strike Daggers were already on ORB soil. And more were arriving every minute.

He glanced at the Freedom. Kira appeared to be having problems with a strange green mobile suit armed with a scythe. It seemed that every time Kira fired at the green mobile suit, it either dodged the shot or deflected the beams somehow with its shields. He better help him out. Chris sped off towards the Freedom. Only to come face to face with a mobile suit emerging from the sea, that was virtually identical to the Raven he used to pilot. Both the Exia and the Raider stopped dead in their tracks. "What the hell..." both Chris and Clotho said simultaneously as they stared at the other's mobile suit.

_"Damn you!"_ Clotho yelled a moment later. _"Who the hell do you think are, being the copycat pilot of my mobile suit!"_

"Copycat! I'm not the copy! I was the original!" Chris shouted back. "You're the copy!"

_"No I'm not!"_

"Yes you are!"

Clotho growled. _"Then I'll just kill you and become the original!"_ he shouted, firing his railguns.

The Exia dodged the Raider's shots and fired back. "That's not how it works! I'll always be the original and you'll always be the copy! Besides, the Raven is destroyed. So you were never a copy to begin with!" Chris shouted at his old Gundam's copy with a smirk on his face.

The two mobile suits continued their deadly dance. Neither able to gain the upper hand over the other. _"Just die already!"_ a frustrated Clotho shouted, firing off the Zorn cannon.

Chris narrowly managed to avoid the beam. "Whoa…A Beam Cannon in the mobile suit's head. That's new. Clearly, you have more weapons than I do. But which one of us is faster, I wonder?"

Chris turned the Exia around and blew past the Raider. "Come on! Catch me if you can copycat!"

_"You bastard! You're terminated!"_ Clotho growled as the Radier transformed and chased after the Exia.

Chris smirked as they raced across the skies above Onogoro. The Raider fired off its machineguns and Zorn cannon at him, but Chris was able to dodge the shots thanks to the Exia's GN Drive. _'That's it. Use up all your power trying to chase after me. Your weapons will be useless if you don't have any power.'_

* * *

_NASA_

Alliance Dagger pilots made their way inland, only to be held up by ambush tactics that were used once before, in the Revolutionary War. Traverses made hit-and-run attacks on the Daggers that wanted to get inland, each time being more successful than the last.

_"Let's show them the true power of NASA!"_ a pilot yelled as she fired off a slew of missiles from her Traverse. The warheads impacted the Daggers that were closest to her location, leaving behind a devastating explosion and aftermath. A large crater was all that remained, as were several damaged buildings.

The Dagger lieutenant turned to the location of the Traverse responsible, only to be met with another Traverse in front of him. He pulled his beam saber, only for the Traverse to do the same thing. Sword met shield, and sword met gun as the two clashed. Elsewhere, a Traverse pilot had snagged a Dagger's shield and was using it in a shoving match with another Dagger. Both machines were not getting anywhere, but that was fine with the pilots. As long as the other could not attack, then they were safe.

"Damn NASA! How could they have come up with these machines and _still_ have much more advanced technology in them than we do?!" an Alliance pilot snarled as he fired his machine's beam rifle at a fast-moving Traverse in its tank form. The turret swung around and fired, hitting his machine in the lower torso. "Guh!"

That was all that he recalled before his machine blew up in a fireball. The Traverse then faded into the maze of buildings that was Boston. Many other Daggers were suffering as well due to NASA soldiers having the advantage in terrain. There were masses of Daggers on narrow roadways, leaving them open to mass attacks by Traverses that were in ambush locations.

It was not going well in the Alliance's favor. Not to mention the Mass Driver in Florida was rigged to blow if any Alliance forces got within twenty yards of it. But they were going to try anyway. And NASA was not going to give in either.

* * *

_ORB_

"Come on! Let's show these fools the might of the Alliance!" a Strike Dagger lieutenant shouted, leading six other Daggers towards a pair of Astrays and a group of tanks.

However, they didn't get very far when a beam pierced the cockpit of the lieutenant's Dagger. The remaining Daggers abruptly stopped, only to be gunned down by more well aimed shots. The first four were all hit in the chest and exploded. The fifth lost its head from one beam and was destroyed by the second. A shot narrowly missed the final machine. The second shot severed its left ankle and it fell to the ground.

Standing on a ridge, over a mile away, the Farsight lowered its beam sniper rifle. "Damn. I shouldn't have needed more than seven shots. Guess I still haven't completely adjusted to this new rifle." John said, taking aim at more distant targets.

* * *

_NASA_

President Hilson climbed into the Traverse she had used before, which was now labeled as hers until she could get a better machine. The cockpit closed up, the OS coming online. She looked over the stats and levels before she proceeded out onto the battlefield near the capital itself.

"All units, this is President Marie Hilson! As of right now, I am effectively taking command of the battlefield! Orders are to hold the capital under any circumstances! Use ambush tactics to gain an edge over them, and do not let the enemy gain a foothold! As long as I still breathe, I am President and leader of this nation and no one will take that! Even if the capital falls, I will still lead this nation, no matter where I go! That is a promise that I intend to keep!"

Many cheered as they opened fire on the incoming Daggers. Pilots of Traverses moved quickly in both tank and mobile suit form. The president moved in line with the other pilots, her mission clear. The nation was not going to fall!

* * *

_ORB_

A Strike Dagger lunged forward, its beam saber slicing through an Astray's chest. "Ha! These guys aren't so tough!" the Dagger pilot said, laughing as the Astray exploded.

Another Strike Dagger was saber-dueling a second Astray when a third Dagger ambushed the Astray, stabbing it in the back with its beam saber. The third Dagger pilot nodded his head. "Yeah! These idiots think they can mess with the Earth Alliance and get away with it. But they're-"

Whatever he was going to say, was cut off when a trio of beams tore through the Dagger's body and a split-second later, the mobile suit exploded.

The two remain Daggers turned to their new attacker. Before them, stood the GN002 Dynames, his beam rifle trained on them. "Bastard!" the first pilot shouted as both Daggers charged towards the mobile suit. "You're dead!"

Liz quickly stowed her rifle, switching it for the beam sabers. Both Dagger pilots smirked. This lone mobile suit didn't stand a chance against them. "Small hilts against beam sabers! Don't make me la-"

Suddenly, the Dynames rushed towards them, catching them off guard with its superior speed. Liz struck, slicing through the waists of both machines as she rushed past them. "GAAAAAAH!" one of the Alliance pilots screamed just before his Dagger exploded along with its teammate.

But Liz didn't have any to celebrate her victory as more and more Strike Daggers appeared, firing their rifles at her. Liz pulled the Dynames back, avoiding their shots as she raised her machine's left arm. The shields took the blows just fine. She sliced with the beam saber, shredding the right arm off one machine and taking out two others. But there were too many for her to handle by herself. Still, there wasn't much of a choice here. She sheathed her right beam saber and brought out her sniper rifle. "Come on!" she shouted at the advancing Daggers. "You guys aren't getting ORB without a fight!"

At that very moment, beams rained down on the Daggers from afar. Most of the Daggers exploded or found heads and limbs blown off. _'Guess I owe John for that.' _Liz thought as she opened fired on the survivors that were still determined to fight.

* * *

_NASA_

As Earth Alliance Daggers made their way into Washington D.C., President Hilson was on the front lines with the soldiers fighting to defend their home. Many Traverse pilots had taken down even more Daggers than predicted. Her eyes flicked over the arrangements of soldiers before she looked back at the White House.

All around the presidential mansion, defenses were deployed. Missiles rose out of the grounds and did the launchers. Guns were armed and primed for firing, and snipers with bazookas were firing at any Daggers that tried to get close. Gatling guns were firing as well, sticking out of the ground like the sentinels they were.

Daggers were exploding before they even reached the grounds, or even the front gate. So far so good… An explosion made her look over to the left, away from the White House. A Dagger had been destroyed near the Pentagon.

Fiery remains were all that remained. Defenses were going around the military headquarters of the United States Armed Forces as well. Like the White House, missile launchers, Gatling guns, guns, and bazooka-wielding soldiers were taking out the Daggers like no tomorrow. She could also see the Alliance soldiers having difficulty weaving through the maze of Czech hedgehogs that lined the streets, there were so many.

The cockpit warning system bleeped, making President Hilson look in front of her. With a gasp, she realized that a Dagger had gotten the jump on her. Moving backwards, she managed to dodge the beam saber swipe, only to get hit with a beam rifle shot. She grunted as her machine regained its balance.

"Damn…" she murmured before she spoke. "Why are you doing this?!"

_"Like traitors like you would know! Your Mass Driver is ours! Then we can wipe out the space monsters who dare to call themselves humans! They make a mockery of _us_, the _true humans_!"_ the Earth Alliance pilot she spoke to roared.

"NO! They are _NOT_ monsters! _YOU_ are the real monsters!" she snarled back as she pulled her Traverse's beam saber. The pink blade ignited and clashed with the Dagger's beam saber. Grunting, the president then aimed the beam cannon on the back of her machine at the Dagger and fired. The enemy pilot was so caught up in his duel with the country's leader that he did not notice the beam cannon charging and firing until it was too late.

"GAAAAHHHH!" His machine was vaporized quickly at such close range.

"You will pay for trying to conquer my nation!" the president roared as she got her machine into a fighting stance.

* * *

_ORB_

Nisha fired on several Daggers that tried to surround him, the missiles taking out the enemy with no trouble. "Damn. These guys sure are desperate to get that Mass Driver." He murmured.

Several Astrays were firing the same time he was, giving him the edge over the Earth Forces. _"You said it."_ One of the pilots replied as he fired on a Dagger, taking out the left arm in the process.

Several Daggers rushed at the Z.A.M. Gundam, only to be wiped out by a massive golden beam from above. Nisha looked up, only to see Wing Zero hovering there, Twin Buster Rifle out.

_"You need to be more alert."_ Heero noted in that emotionless voice of his.

"Thanks Heero!" Nisha replied.

_"Hn."_ With that remark, Heero went back to attacking Strike Daggers that were flying around his location. He whipped out both beam sabers and attacked, slicing off the legs of one Dagger while another was sliced in half. Whirling around, he then stabbed a Dagger before he sliced another's arm off. A trio of Daggers opened fire on him, but Heero was faster, dodging two of the shots while blocking the third on Wing Zero's shield. The Dagger that had fired the shot blocked wavered, only to be blown to bits by the Twin Buster Rifle at its lowest setting.

The other two Daggers tried to avoid getting hit, only to be impacted by the Z.A.M. Gundam's missiles. The two blew up in a fireball, leaving nothing but armor remains behind.

_"That was unnecessary."_ Heero noted as he flipped over an aerial Dagger, shooting it in the back before it blew up in an explosion of heat and flame.

"Hey, they were gunning for ya." Nisha replied as he went back to firing on the advancing Daggers.

* * *

"This is bad." Nicol said as they watched the battle play out before them from the ridge they were standing on. "We have to do something."

"Like what?" Saul asked. "Your Blitz is gone. And the Surge and the Buster are in one of dozens of ORB hangers."

"And this doesn't involve us." Dearka added. "This is between ORB and the Earth Forces."

Suddenly, the Exia, followed by the Raider, soared closely overhead, forcing the three teens to duck as the mobile suits pasted.

"Dearka, Saul, you both can't believe that we should just sit back when all this is happening, can you? This is wrong and you both know it." the green haired pilot exclaimed once the mobile suits passed.

Both pilots hesitated. Nicol was right, but they couldn't do anything, even if they wanted to, without their mobile suits. And if they did get involved there was the possibility that they'd be labeled traitors and deserters by ZAFT. But still… It shouldn't matter if they were still fighting against the Earth Forces.

"Hey!" a female voice called out.

The three of them turned around. A woman, sitting in jeep, had appeared behind them some time while they were talking. "I've been looking all over for you guys. I'm Johanna Dante. You guys wanna help out?"

"I'll help." Nicol said, stepping towards the jeep. He stopped after a couple of steps and turned to Saul and Dearka. "Dearka, Saul, are you guys coming?"

Saul scratched the back of his head. "Jeez... It figures. The first time I actually feel like being a soldier and it's when I'm not fighting for ZAFT. If only my family could see me now..." Saul said, shaking his head. "Ah well. I'm in."

"We may not be fighting for ZAFT, but we'd still be fighting the Earth Forces. So they can't really call us traitors." Dearka added. "I'll fight too."

Johanna smiled. "Good. Get in."

* * *

_NASA_

As Coordinator citizens were evacuated into the shelters, Earth Forces soldiers tried to penetrate the barriers that were erected around the roadways leading there. Of course, with the Traverses defending said barriers as well as other forms of artillery and Czech hedgehogs, that task was easier said than done.

With NASA's custom OS for Naturals, it was easier for the Traverses to avoid being hit, but at a cost. They had no real defense unless they stole a Dagger's shield, which several did.

Soldiers of NASA fired off rockets and shells at the incoming Daggers. And for each Traverse that fell, two or three Daggers went down with it. A Traverse pilot opened fire with his missiles, causing several soldiers near a Dagger to get killed. Earth Alliance infantry moved with the Daggers, hoping to take out any Coordinators that they saw. But that hope was becoming moot at that point. Another Traverse opened fire with the beam cannon, costing another two Dagger pilots their lives as their machines went up in balls of fire. A Dagger and Traverse engaged in a small beam saber duel before the Traverse stabbed the Dagger in the cockpit, causing the machine to erupt in a ball of fire. Nothing remained of the Dagger, although the Traverse was damaged slightly.

"Just what are the Earth Forces big-wigs thinking?!" A pilot growled as he blew apart a Dagger with his machine's cannon.

_"You got me. All I know is that we have to drive them back, and so we will."_ Another pilot replied as he sliced a Dagger in half down the middle. The resulting explosion concealed the Traverse, but when it cleared, the pilot was already on another target. A Strike Dagger tried to get past the Czech hedgehog defenses, but the explosion of its comrade pushed it over onto the anti-tank defense, trapping the machine…

At Washington D.C., President Hilson was also fighting, but against a much bigger group of Daggers. She looked back for an instant, allowing a Dagger to attack her Traverse. The resulting push forced her against the Pentagon wall, making her grunt on impact.

_"You race traitors shall fall, and soon only the true humans, US, will rule over the Coordinators! We are the Master Race!"_ the enemy pilot shouted as he pushed her machine against the crumbling wall even more.

President Hilson's eyes widened before she felt a fury that had never been felt before. With an almost feral, more like berserker, strength, she pushed the other machine off of her Traverse and opened fire. The beam cannon missed, but she did not care. In her mind, a hazel seed-like object exploded, making her eyes dilate and glaze over. The president pulled her machine's beam saber and stabbed the Dagger in the cockpit. But before the machine blew up, the pilot heard her words that were filled with malice and hatred of the Earth Forces. "You will NEVER enslave ANYONE EVER AGAIN! YOU RACE TRAITOR!"

In a fireball, the Dagger was obliterated. The president's Traverse had minor damage, but was still functional in a fight. She looked back, and unleashed her fury on the next Earth Forces pilot to be close to her.

* * *

_ORB_

A squad of ORB Astrays fired on the Earth Alliance's Strike Daggers as they advanced into the city. The Daggers were numerous, but somehow, the defenders managed to push them back, but barely. However, things were about to change. A crimson mobile suit suddenly landed before the ORB squadron.

"Captain! What is that?" a nervous ORB pilot asked.

"Some new Earth Forces machine." the Captain answered. "Destroy it!"

"DIE!" Martin howled as he flew in while firing his beam Gatling guns at the Astrays.

The barrage mercilessly tore through many of the Astrays before they manage any kind of defense. The surviving Astrays backed away, moving behind buildings and trying to regroup from the assault. But Martin didn't give them a chance to. The Massacre's chest plate opened as did its missile pods as well. The remaining Astrays in the area fell quickly fell before this second barrage. Beams tore through buildings and the mobile suits standing behind them. A cluster of missiles impacted a trio of Astrays standing together, destroying them.

Suddenly, the Massacre jumped to the left, barely dodging a beam. Martin giggled slightly as the Farsight's Camo Shift Armor deactivated. "Not bad." John commented. "But that's not going to be good enough."

Martin snarled this time, firing all of his Gatling guns at the Farsight. John pulled the Farsight into the air, evading the Massacre's shots and fired his rifle. The beam hit the Massacre's left twin Gatling gun. Martin threw the weapon away just before it exploded. "Damn you!" he shouted, firing back at the Farsight with his remaining Gatling guns.

John sidestepped behind a row of buildings. The guns tore through the building...Only to hit nothing. The Massacre's head turned back and forth, searching for the Farsight. Martin growled in frustration. "Dammit! Where are you? Come and fight me coward! Or are you too scared to play?"

There was no response.

"Come on! Fight!"

Again, nothing.

"That's it! I'm gonna level this whole city to find you!"

At that moment, the Farsight emerged from some buildings on the Massacre's left. Its rifle was gone and in its place, a beam saber. John raised the saber up as he raced towards the mobile suit. But before it could strike, the Massacre drew one of its larger Garm beam sabers with its free hand and blocked the blade. Both pilots suddenly raised their other weapons. The Farsight's beam pistol was inches from the Massacre's chest, while the twin barrels of the Massacre's Fenrir Gatling gun were inches from the Farsight's. The two mobile suits stayed there for a moment, locked in that position. Neither seemed willing to risk moving. "I must admit," John said. "You're much better than most pilots, even if you are as wild as they get."

_"You're dead!"_ Martin shouted back.

The Massacre pushed the Farsight back and swung its saber down. However, the Farsight was a faster machine than its opponent, especially in John's hands. He quickly sidestepped the blow. "Too slow." John commented, swinging his own saber down.

But the Massacre managed to raise its saber back up, blocking the blow. Then Martin followed up with a kick to the Farsight's chest, sending the mobile suit stumbling back. Martin raised the Massacre's Fenrir Galting gun, aiming directly at the Farsight's cockpit...

But just before Martin could squeeze the trigger, a beam shot impacted the Massacre's side. Martin turned to his attacker. The Exia continued to fire on the Massacre as it down towards the two mobile suits, the Raider still chasing after it. Martin fired all of his remaining Gatling guns at the annoying airborne pests. Both mobile suits managed to swerve and transform back to mobile suit mode, avoiding the incoming fire.

_"What the hell? You almost hit me you nutjob!"_ Clotho shouted.

"Get out of my way or I'll kill you too!" Martin roared back, still firing on the Exia and the Raider.

Clotho growled and fired his railgun at the Massacre. _"Eat this you crazy bastard!"_

The Massacre jumped back, evading the rounds and ceasing its barrage. "Damn. These guys are nuts!" Chris said to himself as he watched the two new Earth Forces mobile suits.

Then to his surprise, both Clotho and Martin stopped their attacks and turned to him. "Oh crap..." he whispered just before the two fired on him.

Chris desperately pulled the Exia upwards as fast as he could, just barely evading their attacks. "Guess even these lunatics have enough sense to focus on their actual enemies and not each other."

The Massacre's missile pods opened and fired the remaining missiles at Exia. Chris fired his GN Vulcan three times, destroying the missiles. The Raider's hammer then came flying right out of the smoke at the Exia. Chris pulled up the shield part of his GN Vulcan. The hammer slammed into the shield, pushing the Exia back. Chris reached out and grabbed the hammer's cable and pulled. Clotho was caught off guard and the Raider was pulled forward. "Bastard! Annihilate!" Clotho roared, firing his railgun at the Exia.

Needing to dodge the shots, Chris let go of the cable, allowing the Raider to reclaim his weapon. "Not bad copycat. But you're still just a cheap imitation." he said, heading higher into the air.

"Come back here!" Clotho shouted, chasing after the Exia.

Martin turned back to where the Farsight had been standing, only to find it missing. "Where are you, coward? Don't tell me you've run away!" he moaned, searching for the missing machine.

"If you want to fight me, you'll have to find me first."

Martin let out a frustrated roar. "Forget it! If you won't fight me face to face, then you can go to hell!"

He took off, heading after the Exia and the Raider. If that coward wasn't going to fight him, then he'd find some brave enough to actually fight him.

John watched as the Massacre flew off. Normally, he wasn't the kind to hide from a fight. But he had underestimated the Massacre. He thought that he could have taken it out quickly and return to his role as sniper. But both the mobile suit and its pilot were too formidable for a quick victory. And at the moment, the ORB defenders needed his sniper abilities to help hold back the tide. Hopefully, Kira and Chris would be able to deal with those machines.

* * *

_NASA_

President Hilson looked back at three Daggers that were making their way towards the trails of humans leaving for the buses that would take them to the interior shelters. One aimed at a group of Coordinators, only for the president to react, firing off the beam cannon which then impacted the Dagger preparing to fire.

The explosion took out the Dagger and damaged the other two in the process. "No one will take this nation alive!" she snarled as she ran at another trio of Daggers, beam saber out. She slashed one Dagger in half, pulling the machine's beam saber before the Dagger blew up. Igniting the second blade, she then sliced one Dagger in half down the middle, with the other one getting sliced from the right shoulder down to the left leg. Jumping away, the president watched the two machines explode in twin fireballs.

Her Traverse landed without harm, only to get hit in the back by a beam shot. Looking back, President Hilson's seed-dilated eyes narrowed as she dodged a Dagger's beam saber stab. Whirling around, she sliced that Dagger in half while slashing off another's arm. Both the machine and severed limb blew up in the process, giving the president some breathing room.

She glanced back, just in time to see the Daggers retreating. The sheer power of the Traverse units and their skilled, experienced pilots was driving them back, but when the drive to defend their home nation and the fact that the Earth Forces lacked the advantage in terms of terrain experience were thrown in, the facts were pointing to NASA winning the near siege of America.

People ran into the last of the shelters, which were then all closed up, the doors sliding shut with a hiss of compressed air. Once those doors were shut, there was no way to open them up until said siege was over. And if the shelters were compromised by the Earth Forces, the shelters, which were actually shuttles, would eject into space, giving NASA a way to protect their Coordinator citizens.

As the Daggers began to leave for the coast-line, the President began to feel the weariness of battle catching up to her. It felt like a load of bricks were on her, but she forced herself to remain conscious until the last of the Daggers had left.

NASA had won…

* * *

_Aboard the Cousteau_

_Outside ORB Territorial Waters_

Yzak watched as the screens displaying the battling Earth Alliance and ORB forces. He was particularly focused on the screens displaying the stolen Freedom and the new machine. Freedom was fighting one of the new Earth Forces mobile suits while the newcomer was apparently being chased by another mobile suit that was almost identical to the Raven.

But he wasn't the only one watching. Commander Creuset, Saya, Zane and virtually the entire bridge crew were watching the battle play out. Yzak had to admit, it was pretty brave of a small nation like ORB to stand up to the much, much larger forces of the Earth Alliance. They were doomed of course. The only way ORB could have won, was if they had accepted ZAFT's offer of assistance. Regardless of their decision, ORB was still putting up one hell of a fight. And there were even brief moments were Yzak thought that perhaps ORB could actually beat back the invaders.

There was no doubt ZAFT was also observing the fight in NASA. Yzak knew that NASA had declined their offer of assistance as well, so he had his doubts about the alliance being able to drive off the Earth Alliance. Still, he knew that very few wanted to challenge them, so there was a chance that they could still win against the superior numerical forces, even if it was not even there.

_"Make sure to record everything you can about those new machines."_ Commander Creuset ordered. _"We'll likely have to face them in the future, so any information we can gain from this battle on them will be helpful."_

The Freedom fired its Balaena plasma cannons at the new Earth mobile suit. Only to have the beams deflected by the mobile suit's strange backpack mounted shields. Then it fired back with its powerful cannon. The Freedom sidestepped as beam shot out and then curved towards the Freedom. The white mobile suit barely managed to dive down under the beam. _"It's seems the Earth Forces have come up some interesting new technology." _Zane commented. _"Especially considering that it's going up against a machine like the Freedom."_

At that moment, the newcomer and the Raven's black copycat appeared. The new machine fired on the green mobile suit. Its shields came down again. But the deflecting capabilities of those shields did nothing to the little to dampen the new machine's blasts. Both machines then fired their ranged weapons. But the two pilots managed to dodge the others shots, thought the newcomer was forced to move back several feet to even evade the high velocity rounds. Suddenly, the black mobile, in its mobile suit mode, launched its spherical breaker at the blue and white machine, hitting it in the back. Yzak heard a gasp coming from behind him as the new machine fell.

Yzak glanced over his shoulder. It was the Commander's new red haired assistant. Her eyes were locked on the screens and clutching something in her hand. It was either necklace or perhaps a single dog tag, based on the small chain sticking out the bottom of her fist. Yzak didn't know a lot about her. He wasn't even sure when she had come on board. The first time he had actually seen her was after Panama. But he heard from some of the crew, that she had been on board since JOSH-A. In fact, some of those people claimed they saw her in an Earth Forces uniform. And of course, that led to rumors going around the ship about her. Some claimed that she was one of their spies that the Commander had recovered from JOSH-A during the attack. Which did make sense since the Commander did disappear for a while during the battle. But Yzak didn't buy that. Her demeanor and expression weren't that of a normal soldier. Rather, she seemed too constantly on edge and extremely nervous, almost afraid, to be here. It seemed more likely that she was a captured soldier. But then why didn't the Commander lock her up? And if it was true, then why was he passing her off as his assistant?

This of course led to the darker rumors that were never uttered in the Commander's presence. It was that the girl wasn't his assistant but rather his lover. A few even suggested that she actually be a captured Earth Forces soldier that the Commander captured and had taken as his lover.

But Yzak brushed those rumors off as bad gossip and nothing more. Whatever the reason for her being here was, he was sure that it was good one. He turned back to the screens. The white machine had managed to stop its freefall and was firing back at both the black machine and the red one that had just arrived. If he had been paying more attention to her, Yzak may have noticed that her eyes weren't locked on all of the screens, but rather the one showing the new machine.

* * *

"Incoming missiles!" Sai shouted as wing of Spearhead fighters fired off their missiles.

"Evade!" Murrue ordered.

"There's no time!"

Suddenly, yellow beams tore through the path of the missiles, destroying them. Everyone on the _Archangel_'s bridge looked out the side windows. Standing nearby them was Buster. "_Archangel_, I got your back." Dearka said, firing on the fighters.

* * *

"Go! Go! Go!" an Earth Alliance Lieutenant shouted, leading a squad of Strike Daggers towards a group of ORB Astrays and tanks.

Just after they passed a pair of damaged buildings, a black mobile suit appeared out of nowhere. The Neo Blitz fired its beam rifle at the advancing mobile suits, quickly gunning down two of machines. The remaining Daggers in the rear of the group stopped, turned around and fired back. The Neo Blitz pulled out its shield out in front of it. To the surprise of the Alliance pilots, the beams were deflected by the shield.

"What? Impossible!" one pilot shouted.

"Wow. They really weren't kidding around when they said that this was more than just a rebuilt Blitz." Nicol said as he blocked more beams.

At that very moment, the Surge appeared on the left side of Daggers, heading towards them at great speed. Both of its katanas were drawn. Some of the Dagger pilots saw the Surge coming and turned to face it. But they weren't fast enough. The Surge sliced through many of mobile suits as it passed through the group. Those that he missed were so stunned by this sudden attack, that they stopped firing. This allowed Nicol to finish them off.

_"Damn...I should have gotten all of those. Someone's been screwing around with my Surge. It doesn't handle right."_ Saul complained as he adjusted the machine's OS.

"I don't know. The Neo Blitz handles just like the Blitz." Nicol said. "Are you sure that you aren't just a little rusty?"

_"Hey! There's no way my skills have dulled!"_

"That's not what it looks like to me."

Two mobile suits suddenly dove for cover as a barrage was fired in their direction. _"Come on boys! Let's take those punks down!"_ an Earth Forces pilot said as more Daggers advanced on the pair.

_"Jeez... Don't you guys give up?" _Saul asked as he and Nicol fired back with their rifles.

* * *

Heero flew around, firing the Twin Buster Rifle at any Daggers that happened to be within firing range. Large groups of the Earth Forces machines were wiped out each time he did so, but only at half-power. If he tried to go full power, then he would not be able to fight effectively, as he would only have two shots to pull off.

He grunted as a Dagger impacted his machine's armor, but the beam did little against it. He let himself have a small smirk before it faded. Closing his eyes, he let the Zero System feed him information, and he chose the appropriate tactics based on that data.

Opening his eyes, Heero dodged a beam slash from a Dagger by flipping upwards and over before coming to a hover. "You are an amateur. I can easily read your moves." Heero murmured as the Earth Forces pilot tried to move away from him.

_"Damn it! This machine is too powerful! It really _is_ the Berserker of JOSH-A!"_ he exclaimed before his machine was blasted apart by a golden blast of energy.

Heero dodged another Dagger's beam fire, firing the Twin Buster Rifle again. Another Dagger fell to Wing Zero's power.

* * *

Orga effortlessly destroyed a group of Astrays with the Calamity's overwhelming fire power. They were all pathetically easy to destroy. Orga looked up. All three of his teammates were up in the air, fighting those funny white mobile suits. And they seemed to be holding their own against his teammates. That just wouldn't do. The Calamity jumped into the air, its thrusters pushing it towards the group. "Mind if I join in?" he said, firing into the heart of the group.

All five mobile suits scattered, trying to avoid the incoming fire. _"Orga! You bastard!"_ an irate Clotho shouted. _"What the hell do you think you're doing?"_

Orga laughed. "Making sure you guys don't hog all the fun!"

In the distance though, he could see another winged machine fighting off the Daggers. Still, it was soon going to fall.

* * *

Unbeknownst to fighters, a tragedy was about to happen. A family of four ran through the woods, trying to reach the boats that were evacuating the civilians of ORB. Shinn Asuka looked up at the mobile suits fighting above them. The white one and blue one were shrugging against the other four. Shinn really wasn't sure which ones were fighting for ORB and which ones were with the Earth Forces.

Suddenly, the light blue one and the black one, one of which had transformed into a bird-like mode, raced dangerously close overhead, forcing Shinn and his family to brace themselves as a strong gust of wind slammed into them.

"My phone!" Mayu cried out as her phone flew out of her pocket and fell down the side of the hit.

Mayu headed for her cell phone, but their mother grabbed her arm. "Forget about it. We have to go Mayu."

"But my phone!"

"Don't worry. I'll get it." Shinn said, running down the side of the hill.

Shinn had found Mayu's phone and picked it up when he heard Mayu scream. He ran up the hill, only for his father to slam into him, tossing him down the rest of the hill. By some small miracle, the only injuries he had sustain were some scrapes and bruises, and having the wind knocked out of him. He slowly got to his feet, still clutching Mayu's cell phone. "Mom! Dad! Where are you? Mayu!" Shinn called out, as started to search for his family. "Mom! Dad! Ma-"

He looked over, only to see his father and mother running towards him with Mayu. Earth Alliance officers were behind them. "Oh no! MAYU!" he cried. Running towards them, Shinn was more than anxious for his family's sake.

An Earth Forces soldier fired on his family, hitting his mother in the back. Shinn was staring in shock and horror as she fell, dead from shattered lungs. "No…Mom…Mom! MMMOOOMMM!"

His father ran towards Shinn, his sister in their father's grasp. "We're almost there. Just hang on, Mayu!" their father exclaimed.

"Come on. The boat will be leaving soon." An ORB officer said, half dragging Shinn to the boat.

As they left for the boat, Shinn looked back. His father ran towards Shinn, his sister in their father's grasp. "We're almost there. Just hang on, Mayu!" their father exclaimed.

But before the duo could reach the boat, the Earth Forces got them first. Their father was grabbed, unable to fight off the trained soldiers. "MAYU! Just keep going!" he cried, Mayu already heeding his words.

Shinn reached out just as the boat began to pull away. "Mayu!" he cried. Mayu saw this and ran for her brother. "Shinn!"

The two siblings reached out their hands, hoping to make contact. Her hand was so close to Shinn's as the boat began to move faster. The end of the dock was getting closer, but so was Mayu. Then, the Earth Forces shattered the moment. Mayu cried out as she was pulled back from her brother by the enemy.

"Mayu!" Shinn cried. But it was too late. The boat was out of range and too far from the dock. His sister looked back in his direction, a plea for help visible on her face. "SHINN!"

"MMMAAAYYYUUU!"

* * *

All across Orb, the battles raged. The Buster and the _Archangel _let loose a furious barrage on the advancing invaders, cutting down dozens of mobile suits and fighters. The Neo Blitz and the Surge tore Strike Daggers in the close-quarters of the city blocks using their superior abilities to overwhelm the Daggers. Nisha and Heero were driving back the tide of Daggers in the air, but even with the sheer power of Wing Zero, that was not doing much good. Mu, in the Strike, was leading a squad of Astrays. Together, they were managing to push back the advancing Daggers. Elsewhere, John had resumed his role as sniper gunning down Alliance forces all over Onogoro. He was even hitting some of their closer naval vessels. Like Nicol and Saul, Liz had taken to fighting the enemy mobile suits at close range, where the Dynames' swords could make easy work of the mass production mobile suits.

But even with the aid of the _Archangel _and Gundams, that was only just barely holding back the tide of the Earth Alliance forces. For every Strike Dagger that fell, there were two more to take its place, while for every ORB Astray lost, that cut the defenders' strength. And even though the Earth Forces' second generation Gundam were being distracted by the Freedom and Exia, the sheer numbers of Daggers were enough to cut through parts of the defenders' lines.

A squad of Strike Daggers gunned down a group of defending Astrays and tanks. A wing of bombers dropped their deadly payload upon a cluster of artillery guns. An ORB Aegis-class battleship was hit by a pair of Fraser-class vessels and started sinking.

Samuel watched these scenes and many more like them play out with an emotionless expression on his face, unlike Cagalli, who was wearing her emotions quite clearly. There was no point in getting emotional or dwelling on all the deaths at the moment. It would only serve to distract him. He had learned long ago to seal up his emotions during battle.

The battle was not going well for ORB, or at least not as well as he had hoped. He had miscalculated. Not on the number of the invaders. He had actually predicted a much larger force than this. No. It was those four new mobile suits they had developed. He knew they would have built successors to the G-Units from Heliopolis. But he hadn't expected them to be so formidable. While Kira and Chris were distracting them, limiting the damage they could do. It was at the same time, robbing them of their strongest weapon, the Freedom. He had predicted that with the Freedom fighting in the frontline, it would have bought them hours, possibly an extra day, before ORB was overrun. But now… Now things weren't looking so good for them.

* * *

In the skies above ORB, things were not going well for both Kira and Chris either. The new mobile suits of the Alliance were all technologically superior to everything they had faced before. Added to this, the pilots themselves were as skilled as anyone they had fought before. Kira was managing to hold his own against them, using a combination of his skill as pilot and the power of the Freedom. But Chris found himself relying more on his skill as a pilot than the abilities of his new machine, the Exia. Even with the Exia received from NASA, it was becoming clear to Chris that his older trusted mobile suit had become old and obsolete in the face of these newer and more powerful Gundams. But with the Exia, that had changed. Still it did little to change the situation he was now in. The Massacre fired off its Ragnorak beam cannon at Chris. The Exia flew up, avoiding the beam. "Come on Exia, let's show them that you're not obsolete like the Raven has become and let's show them that the Raven has not become obsolete yet!" he said, firing at the Massacre.

One of his shots hit its target, shredding the mobile suit's head fin and the beam cannon with it. Needless to say, Martin was less than happy to see his beam cannon destroyed. The Massacre lunged forward, reigniting its beam saber. "I'll tear you apart! That was my favorite weapon!"

Chris swore as he pulled back, trying to avoid the Massacre's charge as he drew his own sabers. Martin swung his saber down as Chris crossed his in front of him, blocking the attack. Suddenly, the Massacre's leg came up, kicking the Exia. As if things couldn't get any worse for the pair, a warning light went off in the Exia's cockpit. Chris swore as he glanced at his power meter. "Dammit. I'm getting too much damage. I'm gonna have to retreat soon."

Kira nodded, firing at the Massacre. _"Go. I'll cover you."_

"Right." Chris said, pulling the Exia away from the battle with the Earth Forces' new Gundams.

_'Dammit. All four are still fighting.'_ Chris thought as he withdrew. _'What kind of batteries do those things have? A normal battery should have run low by now. But these guys are still going strong. How is that possible?'_

"What's this? Running away copycat?" Clotho said, taking aim at the Exia's back. "I don't think so!"

But before he could fire, Kira fired at the Raider, forcing Clotho to move out of the way of the beams. However, Clotho was still not willing to let the 'copycat' go and started firing at the fleeing Exia. Chris evaded shots as Kira continued to fire at the Raider. Shani, seeing that Kira was distracted, fired its plasma induction cannon at the Freedom. Kira caught the incoming plasma beam in the corner of his eye and dodged the shot. However at that moment, Clotho decided to focus on the Freedom. "Game over." Clotho said, just before he fired his Zorn cannon at the Freedom's back.

Kira spun around to face the beam. But he had no time to mount any kind of defense. His life flashed before his eyes as the beam drew towards the Freedom.

But it wasn't his time yet...

At that very moment, a red Gundam appeared in front of the Freedom, blocking the beam with its shield. The battle between the mobile suits stopped as everyone stared at the newcomer, unsure of what to make of him. The new mobile suit and trained its beam rifle on the new Earth Forces mobile suits. _"Are you alright Kira?"_ Athrun asked.

Kira's eyes widened in shock. "Athrun?"

* * *

_New Juneau_

Aki' stood in the pilot's room, finishing up putting on his new flight suit. The new flight suit was blue and black, with white chest armor, a blue torso, black sides, blue upper arms, and black lower arms. The upper legs were blue and the lower legs were black. White gloves and boots finished the outfit. The helmet, which was blue, looked nothing like the ZAFT helmets, EA helmets, or ORB helmets. It had a green pentagon above the visor, but had the standard blackening coat on the visor itself.

(**A/N:** Imagine the Gundam 00 pilot suit helmet.)

Slipping on the helmet, Aki' closed up the pilot's locker, his uniform in a backpack that was in his machine. He looked over his body, making sure that everything was on right. He twisted the sides of the helmet once, a click signaling it was sealed.

He then left the room, the door sliding shut behind him. Aki' drifted down the hallway towards the hanger where the Wing was located. Entering the hanger, the new NAZAFT pilot drifted into his machine's cockpit, which sealed itself with a hiss of air. Closing the visor, Aki' powered up the Wing's OS, which was now updated to a NASA Coordinator-use OS.

He looked over the readouts, which read in the clear. His hands flew over the keyboard as he adjusted the OS to the settings he had used before. The settings returned to normal, he gripped the controls, once again heading to Earth.

_"ORB-04-A Wing Gundam, you are clear for launch."_ The NAZAFT flight controller replied.

"Lieutenant Akira Nishikama, Wing, LAUNCHING!" Aki' cried as the Wing sped out into the vacuum of space.

Turning the Wing to its fighter form, he sped down to Earth.

_'Hang on, you guys! I'm coming!'_

* * *

The Battle of ORB begins, and NASA is also attacked. But while NASA is able to drive off their invasion force, ORB is not so lucky. A family is torn apart by the Earth Alliance while Athrun arrives to save Kira's life just as Akira prepares to head down to ORB and Earth as a NAZAFT pilot. Read on to find out what happens next~! :3

On that note, any flames or troll reviews **_WILL_** be reported and/or deleted depending on if they are signed or not. Those kinds of reviews are **_NOT_** tolerated by **ANY** means. If there **are** such reviews, they **WILL** be reported, not even responded to or acknowledged.


	27. Phase 26: Into the Dawn Skies

Phase Twenty-Six: Into the Dawn Skies

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. Nor do I own Martin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: I chose not to use them because the fic was getting too long for each chapter. ^^' And I may do the dogfight thing, sadly there won't be. :( And yes, it does have the guns the original Blitz was lacking. :)**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :)**

**A0930: Ok, as for Shinn, I have some character development planned for him in the next arc. :) So you will like how he develops as a person. :3 And I can only assure you Mayu will be saved eventually, and no, she is not an Extended. ;) As for Marie, she is not a Coordinator. She is a Natural. In this story, even Naturals can tap into the SEED. :)**

**Vgc:** PLEASE** use a consistent guest name! Geez... But I am glad you still like it. But I want to know **_WHAT_** you love about it, not just that you like it, even though I like hearing that as well.**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those with an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you are a guest without an account, **PLEASE** put a **CONSISTENT** guest name. Thanks!**

* * *

Kira's eyes widened as he stared at the red mobile suit before him. "Athrun?"

_"Dammit! Who the hell are you?"_ Clotho shouted, transforming the Raider and charging at the pair.

_"Wow... Another one of these funny looking mobile suits."_ Shani commented before he too charged the Freedom and the Justice.

Both Earth Forces machines fired. The Freedom and the Justice flew up, dodging the shots.

"What are you doing here?" Kira demanded. "Has ZAFT decided to stick its nose in this battle too?"

_"I haven't received any specific orders regrading this battle. This intervention is my decision alone!"_ Athrun said, firing on the two mobile suits as they passed.

The Raider transformed back and spun around. _"I don't know who you are, but you're going to be a fatality too!"_ Clotho shouted as he threw his hammer at the Justice.

Athrun dodged the hammer, when suddenly Martin appeared behind the Justice, roaring as he swung the Massacre's saber down on the Justice. Athrun swung and blocked it with one of his own. Suddenly, Martin pulled up his remaining beam Gatling gun and squeezed the trigger.

But nothing happened. The gun's battery had been depleted. Martin swore, cursing his weapon's failure to fire. He slammed the useless weapon into the Justice's chest, destroying the gun and knocking Athrun back. "I'm gonna tear you apart!" Martin shouted, drawing his other saber and charging the Justice.

But Athrun recovered and fired the Fatum-00 subflight pack at the Massacre. It slammed into the mobile suit's chest, knocking it back. The Forbidden lunged at the Freedom, swinging its scythe. Kira jumped back, avoiding the attack and unfolding the Freedom's railguns. Kira fired, but Shani managed to block the shots with its shields.

"Finishing move!" Clotho roared, firing his beam cannon at the Justice.

Athrun blocked the beam with his shield. He then drew his other saber and combined them into one dual-bladed saber. He charged the black machine. Clotho blocked his attack with the shield on the Raider's railgun. But the Massacre had returned and hell-bent getting some payback.

However, at that very moment, the Calamity fired again into the group. Its beams coming perilously close to the Justice, the Massacre and the Raider. "Orga!" an enraged Clotho shouted.

_"You're bugging me!"_ Orga shouted back, the Calamity once again leaping into the air and firing at the group, more specifically the Massacre and the Raider.

Suddenly, he turned to the Forbidden and fired at it. _"The same goes for you Shani!"_

Shani deflected the beams with his shields. One of the beams flew past the Freedom and the Justice. "These guys don't give a damn about each other." a stunned Athrun said.

The Raider aimed it's railgun at the Calamity. _"You're bugging me Org-GAAAAAAAAH!"_

At that moment, the Gamma Glipheptin in their bodies ran out and the four Biological CPUs started to go through withdrawal. Their bodies were engulfed in agony and they all screamed out in pain. "Aw crap... We're out of time!" Orga shouted. "Clotho!"

The Raider transformed into its mobile armor mode and grabbed the Calamity's shoulder with its claws, pulling it to the _Powell_, the Forbidden and the Massacre close behind.

* * *

_The Powell_

"The Calamity, the Forbidden, the Massacre and the Raider are returning sir."

Everyone on the bridge was stunned. "They're what?" Captain Oswald shouted.

Azrael scowled. They hadn't last as long as they were supposed to. Nor had they defeated those machines. It was completely unacceptable. He'd have to talk to the doctors about increasing the dosages they were being given, after they were properly punished for their failure of course. And then there were those two machines, the white one and the red one that had just arrived. There was some odd about them. The amount of power those machines were displaying didn't seem possible with normal batteries, same with that machine, the one with the powerful rifle, or the Berserker of JOSH-A as it was known. He briefly wondered if...

Oswald turned to him. "Do you have an explanation for this?" he demanded.

Azrael stood up. "Well then Captain, I think it's time we took a break from this battle. Recall all you're forces." he said with a smirk. "Don't worry it's only temporary."

"What?"

"Face it. We're not going to get anywhere with just the Strike Daggers. It simply means ORB had some hidden strengths we weren't quite ready for. We wouldn't stand a chance without the new machines."

Bowing to his logic, Oswald gave the order.

* * *

The _Powell_ fired up a signal flare, signaling a temporary retreat for the Earth Forces. The defenders of ORB all collectively breathed out a sigh of relief. It was over...for now.

"They're retreating for now. Have all forces switched to standby." a weary Samuel Dante ordered as Cagalli left the command room. "Have all surviving forces meet at rally points Bravo, Charlie, and Zulu. Get all available personal to repair and resupply the surviving units. And send out teams of medics to search for any wounded. I want a full status report on our remaining forces within the hour."

* * *

The Raider's cockpit hatch opened and Clotho fell out, ripping off his helmet. "It hurts! IT HURTS!" he screamed as his fellow Extended cried out in pain as well.

Withdrawal was always pure hell. And no matter how many times they went through it, they were never use to it. Every ounce of their bodies was hit with pain. It felt like every inch of their insides were on fire. They all cried out, almost pleading for some kind of relief from the agony.

But they got none from the doctors. The doctors simply scribbled down notes on their clipboards and watched them flail around in pain.

* * *

_Onogoro_

"Thanks for the backup." Kira said. "But I'm still wondering, what exactly are your true intentions?"

"I'm under orders from the homeland to either recapture or destroy the machine you're flying right now." Athrun explained. "But I have no intention, at least for now, of fighting you or your allies. I just want to talk."

Kira nodded. "Okay."

A few minutes later, both machines set down on the edge of one of the gatherings of tired ORB soldiers. This particular one was centered on the _Archangel_. And all of the other Gundams had already arrived there as well. As they landed, a group gathered around the machines. Among the group were Cagalli, Mu, Chris, Dearka, Saul, Nicol, Heero, Nisha, Liz, Murrue and the rest of the _Archangel_ crew. They all watched as Kira and Athrun left their mobile suits and walked towards each other. Both Kira and Athrun found themselves looking back at everything that had happened, from before Heliopolis to their most recent encounters with Lacus Clyne. Out of nowhere, Birdie appeared and landed on Kira's shoulder. Kira smiled. "Hi, Athrun."

Athrun nodded. "Kira."

"Oh you guys!" Cagalli shouted, running towards the pair. When she reached them, she hugged them, her eyes watering slightly. "You guys are such idiots!"

Kira and Athrun couldn't help but chuckle as she held them.

"Well now. If only Yzak were here, then we'd have a full-fledged reunion." a familiar voice said.

Athrun broke away from the hug and turned to the voice. Standing in front of the group was Nicol, Dearka and Saul. "It's good to see you Athrun." Nicol said with smile.

Athrun returned the smile. "Same here Nicol."

* * *

_Later That Night_

A Heli soared over the damaged areas of ORB. Lord Uzumi Nara Athha stared out at the devastation below them. "With our surviving strength, it's unlikely that we will last more than a few hours after resume they're attack." Samuel said from pilot's seat

"I know." Uzumi replied. "Was the civilian evacuation successful?"

"For the most part. We've estimated that approximately eighty-five percent of the civilian population has been evacuated. The rest have been moved to the far side of Onogoro. Hopefully they'll be safe there."

Uzumi nodded. "Thank you for all that you've done. I have one more thing I needed for you to do for me."

"You're going through it then?"

"Yes. It is the only way for ORB to achieve a meaningful victory."

Samuel nodded. "I know."

But fate had different plans for Lord Uzumi, plans that he did not count on…

* * *

_An ORB Hanger_

The hanger was abuzz with activity. Technicians rushed to resupply and repair the Astrays and other mobile suits. Kira and Athrun were sitting together in front of the Freedom and the Justice, explaining what had happened. Chris, Saul, Nicol, Dearka, Miri, Liz, Nisha, and many of the other _Archangel_ Crew members all stood nearby. Heero stood off to the side, listening in as well. As Kira neared the end of his explanation, Cagalli came by with cups of water to give the two and pass them along before taking a seat across from them.

"I know that it's the most difficult path for ORB to have taken." Kira explained. "But I also believe that it cannot be helped. I believe that Cagalli's father is right. If ORB sided with the Earth Forces, then the Advanced European Union would use its resources to attack the PLANTs, but the same is true if ORB sided with ZAFT. The only difference would be who was designated the enemy. But there would be no real change for the better. I can't let it go on like that."

He stopped, choosing his next words carefully. "I know I nearly killed your comrade, a close friend. But I never knew him or actually met him before that." He paused again. "The same was true when you killed Tolle. You never knew him or even met him. And it's not like you wanted to kill him."

Athrun averted his glance. He couldn't look Kira in the eye after that. "No, I didn't." he admitted. "But I really wanted to kill you and tried my hardest to do so."

"As did I." Kira said, looking up towards the Freedom and Justice. "It'd be great if we lived in a world where we never had to fight. And that if we could stay in that world forever. But this war is only getting worse every day. If it continues like this, eventually Earth and the PLANTs will have no choice but to wipe each other out. And that's why I'm fighting." He paused to take a drink. "When I started fighting, I did to protect others. But having pulled a trigger, it's too late to go back. Are you and I will have to fight each other again?"

Athrun couldn't find an answer. The words of his father's former friend and Lacus were stuck on a constant loop in his mind. He didn't know what he should do anymore. Before, everything had been so simple. Obey the orders of your superiors in the military and the government, and fight the enemy. But now everything had become so complicated.

Kira turned to Chris. "I'm curious, why do you fight Chris?" he asked.

Chris shrugged. "Well nothing as noble as you. I guess I'm simply watching your back so you live long enough to change the world for the better. That, and keep everyone else alive."

"I have to agree. I fight to protect my father and friends, but mainly to try and get Aki' to see reason." Nisha added. "But, having pulled that trigger, I can't just go back to being a civilian so easily anymore."

Heero just grunted once. "I fought to protect the freedom of the oppressed once, and I will continue to do so, no matter what. As I said once before, a Gundam means two things to me. And I will fight to uphold those two meanings."

Kira smiled as he stood up. "Well, I should get back to my duties now." he said before leaving.

"I have one question Kira." Athrun said, stopping him. "The Freedom has the N-Jammer Canceler. What if someone tried to acquire the data for their own purposes?"

"I'd shoot them." Kira said instantly. "And if needed, I'd destroy the Freedom to safeguard it."

And with that, Kira left. Chris let out a whistle. "Whatever Miss Clyne said to him in PLANTs, it sure was effective." he commented. "Well, I better go see that the Exia's been resupplied."

He left as well. And one by one, the others left to get back to work. Though, Miri got into a bad argument with Dearka about Tolle's death at Athrun's hands before she ran off with Dearka chasing after her. In the end, only Athrun and Cagalli were left.

* * *

_The Powell_

"So Captain, when will we be able to resume the attack?" Azrael asked.

"ORB has been repeatedly sending requests to open negotiations." Oswald said.

"No. It's far too late for that." Azrael replied. "We could never hope to control a nation like that. It'd be in our best interest if they... _disappeared_."

"We'll be ready to resume the attack in the morning. The main concern is with your_ people_."

"Sorry about that. But things are being taken care of as we speak. There won't be a repeat of what happened earlier."

"Oh, and by the way, the fleet that attacked NASA has returned."

Azrael smirked. "Have they accomplished their mission?"

Captain Oswald gulped before shaking his head nervously. "No sir…"

The pure anger on the other man's face was indescribable. Oswald fervently wished that he would just disappear so Azrael would not harm him.

"_WWWWWWHHHHAAAAAAAATTTTT!?"_

Azrael was fuming. The NASA attack fleet had _failed_?! But how?! NASA had _succeeded_ in driving off one of the largest attack fleets in history?!

This was not good for his plans. They _needed_ ORB's Mass Driver now!

* * *

_The Hanger_

Athrun sat beside the Justice, thinking on everything that had happened since this whole mess began. But he noticed that Cagalli was standing nearby and watching him. "Why are you sticking so close to me anyway?" he asked.

"No reason." Cagalli answered. "I just wanted to keep an eye on you."

While he didn't laugh, he did get her little joke. After all that had happened the two previous times they'd been together, he wasn't surprised the she'd stick close to him for a while.

"You must be relieved to see that Kira's alive." she commented.

Athrun wasn't sure what exactly to say to that. "Yeah." He paused and added. "I never got to thank you for before."

"What? Of course you did. Well, kind of. After all, in your state of mind at the time, you might not remember."

She, of course, was lying.

"Mm... Yeah." an unconvinced Athrun said.

Cagalli wanted to change the subject, and fast. "Kira's really changed, hasn't he?"

"Not really."

Cagalli twisted her head back to him. "No?"

"He's pretty much the same as he's always been." He replied, standing up.

"So, what you plan to do about everything?" she asked with a hint of nervousness. She was worried about his answer to her question.

"I really don't know." He told her. "But maybe the answer is right in front of me and I just haven't seen it yet. This is going to be a tough choice."

As he walked away, Cagalli had to agree with him. Everyone at ORB, she, her father, her friends, and the crew of the _Archangel_ faced a daunting path ahead of them.

* * *

_NASA, Great Lakes Naval Base_

People looked over the readings of the N-Jammer, trying to figure out what canceled out the radiation emitted. They had already gone through three different materials that could be used, and yet there was still nothing! A man walked over, carrying a small amount of the material that was used in the construction of the N-Jammer. Putting it down, he looked over the readings that were being picked up.

The readings of the material matched those of the radiation that the N-Jammer emitted. Looking back at the small lump, he turned to another material, one that was useful in only the nuclear fusion reactors.

He put a hand under his chin in thought, but shook his head. There was no way that nuclear fusion materials could be used to cancel out an N-Jammer. The man then walked away, just as another scientist put down a radio-wave/radiation analyzer.

The analyzer, being computerized to find and analyze radio and radiation waves, set to work almost instantly before the readings began to show up on the computer screens. The scientists looked over the data before more readings came up. It seemed to be impossible to find the right frequency that would cancel out the N-Jammer, but they were going to try.

As the analyzer ran over the countless frequencies, the odds of success seemed to be down to none, until someone made a small adjustment on a small radiation transmitter that was letting out several other frequencies. That small adjustment was picked up by the analyzer as was the radiation that was being emitted. To the astonishment of the scientist monitoring the analyzer, the readings from the N-Jammer began to plummet drastically. She looked over the readouts from the N-Jammer, but they were still high. Looking back at the analyzer, she wondered what was causing such a drop.

A hunch in mind, she walked over to a nuclear warhead that was opened, and placed the transmitter inside it. Then, bringing over the analyzer, she put the device down next to the transmitter inside the warhead. The N-Jammer readings inside then began to drop at a dramatic rate. Startled, she yanked out the transmitter, only for the readings from the N-Jammer to rise once more. Looking back at the device in her hands, the scientist placed it back inside the warhead once more. Again the readings dropped. The scientist placed one hand on her hip and the other on her head in confusion.

"What is causing the drop in N-Jammer readings?"

Another officer walked over and looked at the readouts on the computer. "Hey, are the N-Jammer readings inside the warhead supposed to be down to zero?"

Looking back at him in shock, the scientist whirled around. "What?! They're WHAT?!"

"The readings are zero."

Stunned, she fell back into her chair. "No way…we…did we find the method of blocking the N-Jammers?"

"Well, further testing is required, but so far, the results are promising." The officer replied.

"Then get the news to the Pentagon and have them study this!" the scientist shouted.

"Yes, ma'am!"

* * *

_The Powell_

_The Next Morning_

"We've increased the Gamma Glipheptin by ten units." the doctor coldly explained to them as they writhed on the ground in pain. "It should work for at least two hours. If you don't want to feel that kind of pain again, then you better improve your performance."

Clotho, Martin, Orga, and Shani grabbed the vials they were given and greedily drank the drug. In a matter of seconds, the drug flooded their systems, bringing sweet relief from the pain. Their pain-induced spasms subsided as their cries of pain turned to labored, heavy gasps for air.

"Thank you...for stopping the pain..." Clotho weakly said.

Of course, none of them felt any shred of gratitude towards the doctors who administered the drugs. They hated them and desired to inflict pain the same pain they felt on them. But they couldn't. They needed the drugs the doctors had to survive, whether it was the Gamma Glipheptin or the other medicine that made going through withdrawal bearable.

"Now get going." the doctor ordered.

The four pilots left the room, heading for the hanger. There was no need for them to change as they hadn't changed out of their flightsuits. All they needed was to get their helmets, which were still in the hanger.

A few minutes later, they were in their machines, powering them up. If they couldn't take their anger out on the doctors for letting them suffer through the night, then they were gonna take their anger out on something else. Those mobile suits they fought the day before. In their minds, it was because of them that they suffered.

"Those funny machines..." Shani said with a scowl.

"Let's rip them apart." Martin purred.

"Yeah. They're gonna pay." Clotho added.

"That's a promise." Orga said, agreeing with his teammates.

Today was going to be about revenge.

* * *

The Earth Forces renewed their attack, launching countless Strike Daggers and Spearhead fighters. But the surviving ORB defenders fought like they were possessed. The Farsight fired into the air, hitting Daggers and Spearheads every time. Dearka fired off his cannons and missiles into the air as well, taking out more invaders.

Elsewhere, an Astray and Dagger dueled when a second Dagger moved into the attack the Astray from behind. Suddenly, the Neo Blitz fired its pincer claw at the mobile suit. The claw grabbed the Dagger's waist and squeezed. The claws cut into the machine's sides until it exploded. At the same time, the Astray overpowered the Dagger and sliced it in two. "Thanks." Juri said.

_"Don't mention it."_ Nicol replied.

Nearby, the Surge fired off its claw, which tore through a Dagger while he gunned down another with his rifle. Three more Daggers fired at him. The Surge leaped out of the way, firing its rifle at them. The shots found their marks, destroying the Daggers.

Overhead, the Freedom, the Justice and the Exia all fired down on the mobile suits. Kira's shots stripped the Daggers of their weapons, limbs and heads, while Chris's and Athrun's shots destroyed Daggers.

An ORB battleship suddenly exploded. From the fire and smoke, the Forbidden emerged. The Massacre appeared, firing its repaired beam cannon at another ORB vessel, piercing its hull at the water level. Then the Calamity and the Raider joined in. Their combined firepower sank two more ORB warships. "Dammit! Where are they?" Clotho shouted. "Where are those bastards from yesterday?"

"It looks like those guys from yesterday are back." Chris said as he stared out at the harbor where they were fighting. "This is gonna be trouble."

_"Are you sure you be able to fight them with us?"_ Kira asked, concerned for his friend.

"Hey! The Exia may not be like your machines or theirs but we can still kick ass together!" Chris shot back in an annoyed tone.

_"Sorry. Just asking."_

"There they are!" Orga shouted.

All four Earth Forces mobile suits raced towards the trio. It was time for payback.

* * *

The Dynames' GN Beam Saber sliced through a trio of Strike Daggers as Mu gunned down two more. But more Strike Daggers appeared, pressing the attack. "Man... This is getting crazy." Liz said, firing one of her GN Pistols at the advancing Daggers. "No matter how many we destroy, more just keep on coming. Is the entire Earth Alliance military attacking ORB or something?"

_"I doubt it."_ Mu replied as he and a group of Astrays fired at the Daggers as well. _"If the entire military was brought against ORB, we would have been finished after a few hours yesterday."_

At that moment, a barrage of missiles and beams tore through the Daggers. _"Numbers won't help you out here!"_ Dearka shouted as he, Nicol and Saul fired into the group.

_"Yeah! Quality trumps quantity!"_ Saul added.

* * *

"Damn you copycat! Just die already!" Clotho shouted, firing at the Exia.

Chris dove dodging the shots. "Come on copycat, is that the best you can do?" he taunted, racing away from the Raider.

"Get back here you bastard!" Clotho roared, chasing after the Exia.

_'I don't why those machines have so much power, but if I can get him to use it up quickly, I'll be able to beat this punk.' _Chris thought as he dodged shots from Raider.

Elsewhere, Kira fired at the Forbidden with his beam rifle. But again, it bounced off the Geschmeidig Panzer system. Suddenly, the Calamity fired at him, forcing him to dodge the beam, giving Shani an opening. He fired several shots from his plasma induction cannon. The Freedom, like a graceful dancer, moved around the arcing beams. Kira switched the Freedom to HiMAT mode and fired at the Forbidden. Hitting its deflectors with everything he had. However, the Forbidden's shields held out against the onslaught. But Kira figured that if he couldn't overpower the deflector, he try to drain as much of the machine's power as possible.

Nearby, the Massacre and the Justice were going at it. Martin was firing wildly, but made up for his lack of aim with pure firepower. Athrun was struggling just to avoid the machine's firepower. He had to try something to disrupt the Massacre. He grabbed one of the Justice's beam boomerangs and threw it near the Massacre. Martin didn't even pause as the boomerang flew past him. He did stop however, when the boomerang came back, heading straight for him. The Massacre sidestepped the weapon, giving Athrun an opening. He caught the boomerang and charged forward, using it as a beam knife. The Massacre's right arm shot up on reflex, trying to block the beam. The boomerang's blade sliced through the twin barrels of his right Gatling gun, rendering it useless. Martin let out an angry whine. "I'm gonna tear you apart!"

He drew a beam saber and swung at the Justice. Athrun barely managed to parry the swing with his boomerang. He quickly kicked the Massacre, knocking it back and allowing him to switch to his own beam saber. Both swung, locking their blades in a contest of strength.

"Die! Die! Die!" Martin repeated over and over as he tried to overpower the Justice.

But in the end, the Justice started to overpower the Massacre. Suddenly, the Massacre's chest plate opened. "DIE!" Martin cheered, firing the chest Gatling guns.

Athrun, caught off guard, broke from the contest as bullets impacted the Justice. They had little effect on the Justice, but they had achieved the desired result. Martin lunged forward, swinging his saber again. Athrun pulled up his shield, blocking the strike.

* * *

Heero flew into the fray between the Freedom and the other two machines, firing the Twin Buster Rifle at a low setting, but getting the attention of one of them nonetheless.

The Calamity flew at him, firing its ranged weapons. Dodging, Heero opened fire with the Buster Rifle once again. The beam missed Orga, who flew upwards to avoid getting hit. "Ha! You can't hit me, Coordinator scum!" he crowed. A beam saber to the shield was his response.

"You act on emotion. That can lead to mistakes on the battlefield, and to your demise." Heero snarled back. He slashed at the Calamity, only to dodge a beam shot from the beam rifle. The shield took the blast with no trouble, but Heero was now on the defensive.

Nisha, seeing this, fired his machine's missiles at the Calamity. The warheads impacted the machine, forcing it away from Wing Zero. Using the opening provided to him, Heero flew at the Calamity and sliced the right arm off.

Orga cried out, making both Nisha and Heero smirk.

_"Nice teamwork, eh Heero?"_ Nisha asked.

"Yes, it was," Heero replied.

* * *

The battle raged on across ORB. While the ORB defenders fought valiantly, chipping away at the might of the Earth Forces, they couldn't stand against the numbers of the Earth Alliance forever. Sooner or later, ORB would fall. Lord Uzumi and General Dante grimly watched the battle play out in command room when an officer approached. "Lord Uzumi, General Dante, preparations are complete."

Both men nodded. "Inform our forces, we're abandoning Onogoro." Uzumi ordered. "We're regrouping at Kaguya."

* * *

Nisha looked back at the enemy as the ORB forces began to fall back. The Earth Forces were still coming strong, making the retreat almost impossible. Only a machine with high speed would be able to get through so many Daggers without getting harmed. And considering that the Earth Forces were now beginning to block off the retreat route, that was what they needed, not just the Surge.

He growled slightly, frustrated with the way the battle was going. It seemed that there was no way to turn the tide of battle. Suddenly, a golden beam of energy lanced through the air and impacted a Dagger that had been sneaking up on him. The Dagger exploded in a fireball, making Nisha look back in shock.

Flying down from above was a black, white, gold, and blue machine that he knew all too well: the Wing Gundam! He stared in shock as the Wing released several missiles, impacting a wide range and several Daggers all at once. The damaged Daggers either fell to the ground missing limbs or exploded due to massive damage.

The Wing flew around and turned into its mobile suit form, pulling out its golden beam sabers and slicing four Daggers in half as it flew low to the ground. Landing, the machine then opened fire with the missiles once again, hitting three Daggers that tried to avoid the mini-warheads. Two blew up while the third fell to the ground, damaged beyond repair.

Nisha shook his head, finally regaining the ability to speak. "Aki'…?"

_"Hey, Nisha."_ The voice he had never expected to hear again came over the com-line, startling him.

"What are you doing here? Did ZAFT send you?"

A laugh came over the channel. _"Man, Nisha! If you can't understand why I am here, then you really are slow!"_ Aki' replied. _"I left ZAFT because they hid the circumstances under which my sister died and did not get my family the justice they deserved. In other words, I defected."_

Nisha gasped as he realized what his cousin was saying. "So, you no longer work for them because of that?"

_"Well, that and the fact that I would have been killed as a traitor because I was captured by NAZAFT. Apparently Wu claims that all ZAFT pilots captured by NAZAFT are to be treated as traitors and killed as such. So, by leaving ZAFT and joining NAZAFT I saved myself that fate."_ Aki' replied.

"You work for this NAZAFT now?"

_"Yes."_

"Are they like ZAFT?" Nisha asked.

Aki' laughed once again, making Nisha raise an eyebrow. _"NAZAFT is _America's_ military space arm! The name means No Attack-Zone, America Firma Terra!"_

Nisha gasped, shock at the fact that his cousin was now with the _United States_ armed forces filling his body with both relief and fear. Relief at the fact his cousin had seen reason, but fear at his revelation. Even though Nisha was a citizen off the U.S., he still felt fear at the power they held, which was why he was fearful of Aki's new position.

_"So, ya need a hand?"_ Aki' asked.

"Yes, any help would be appreciated." He replied.

Aki' turned the Wing into its fighter form and flew down into a group of Daggers in the air. The NAZAFT pilot opened fire with the wing-mounted Gatling guns, impacting the Daggers. While the bullets did little against the armor, the joints were hit, making a few lose limbs.

A Dagger tried to fire on the Wing, but Aki' pulled hard on the controls, making his machine fly upwards to avoid getting hit. Turning to mobile suit form, Aki' took out one of the Wing's beam sabers and ignited the blade. He then slashed at the Dagger, taking it out in a fireball.

Turning around, he then grabbed another Dagger by the shield and yanked the defensive piece of equipment away. He then ran at another Dagger and impacted the shield against it. The Dagger pushed back against Aki's stolen shield, but the Coordinator used the beam saber to his advantage, slicing off the Dagger's legs. The machine fell to the ground, unable to move forwards.

"Nice, Aki'…" Nisha murmured as he got back to the battle at hand.

* * *

Chris grimaced as his machine took another hit. He wouldn't be able to last much longer. And his black double seemed to be able to continue going on for a while yet. How could these machines have that much power? They couldn't be nuclear powered, so then what was giving these machines all this power?

But he was the only one who was not running out of power. Orga noticed that his machine was starting to run low. He went to fire the Calamity's Schlag cannons at the winged machine, but nothing happened. It was then he saw the flashing alarms showing that the energy supply was running dangerously low. "Damn! You stupid mobile suit!" he cursed. "How can you be out of power already?"

_"It's 'cause you're firing all over the place dumbass."_ Clotho jeered.

"Shut up!" Orga shouted back.

_"If you're leaving, then go."_ Clotho smugly said as chased after the Exia. _"But you're on your own."_

But that momentary distraction was all Chris needed. He drew one of Exia's GN beam sabers and turned around. Clotho narrowly managed to back away from the descending saber. But in the process, Chris's saber sliced through the Raider spherical break, destroying it. Clotho transformed the Raider and fled from the Exia, unaware that its saber deactivated.

"Hey! You're the dumbass!" Orga called out.

Before Clotho could respond, the Calamity jumped onto the back of the Raider.

_"Who the hell said you could get on?"_ Clotho demanded.

"Shut up! We're returning to recharge." Orga responded. "You're low on juice as well. So quit complaining!"

Clotho gritted his teeth and finally steered his mobile suit back towards the carrier, carrying Orga. Kira fired at the Forbidden, which raised its deflector shields again. But this time, the shots hit the shields rather than be deflected. "No more?" Shani said as his power meter read low power.

Kevin roared, firing his Gatling guns and beam cannon at the Freedom. Kira pulled the Freedom up, evading the fire. Suddenly, the Massacre's guns stopped. "Fire! Fire!" Martin howled as the low power alarms went off in his cockpit. "GAAAAAAH!"

Both pilots, seeing no other choice, followed their teammates, heading for the _Powell_.

* * *

_Mass Driver Control Room_

_Kaguya_

_A Short While Later_

"Leave ORB?" Murrue asked. "You're telling us to just run away?"

"I'm sure that you've realized that ORB has already lost." Uzumi grimly replied. "It's only a matter of time before it completely falls."

"What are you saying, father?" Cagalli asked.

Uzumi turned to her. "The citizens have all been evacuated and they'll be taken care of elsewhere. From here on, we will be the ones to take care of the responsibilities." he turned to the rest of the group and continued. "The Earth Forces' present actions are being guided by the leader of Blue Cosmos, Muruta Azrael. To make matters worse, the PLANTs are led by someone who believes Coordinators are a new species, for Hong Fa Wu rules them now. The way things are developing, the world will soon be trapped between two forces that refuse to accept each other's existence. Is this the future you want to see? If you desire a different world, take this small light of hope we've kindled and use it to set a course for a new future. It means a hard road again, but I'm sure you understand why it's necessary, Murrue Ramius."

Murrue nodded. "That light may be small, but it burns brightly. We believe in it as well."

"Then I suggest that you get ready."

Murrue and the rest of the _Archangel_'s bridge crew left the room, returning to the _Archangel_. Samuel turned from the screen he was staring to the gathered mobile suit pilots. "I suggest you all quickly decide whether you're going with them or not before it's too late."

* * *

_A Short While Later_

Kira, Athrun, Chris, Dearka, Saul, Nisha, Aki', Heero, Liz, and Nicol all stood outside the Mass Driver with their mobile suits. The ZAFT pilots were trying to decide what they were going to do next while Kira and Chris waited to board the _Archangel_. Nisha and Aki' were getting caught up while Heero stood by himself. Everyone had been shocked at Aki's return, but relieved at the same time. "You know, there is still a chance that Carpentaria will welcome us back. After all, we have been fighting the Earth Forces all this time." Dearka suggested.

Saul snorted. "Bah! We'll probably be labeled as deserters at best and traitors at worst." he said. "I have to admit, it felt good fighting because I wanted to rather than because I was ordered to."

"Then what are you suggesting?"

"Well, maybe we should stay with the _Archangel_ and fight with them."

Athrun absently listened to the discussion. His mind focused on his encounter with Lacus. "She called me a soldier of ZAFT. She knew all along what I had become." He said, interrupting the conversation. "Since this war started, I thought you just had to follow the orders of your nation no matter what and defeat the enemy to bring a quick end to the war. But now…Now I'm just not sure anymore. What is it that we should really be fighting against?"

"Come with us, Athrun." Kira said. "We'll try to find the answers together."

Athrun smiled and looked back at the line of M1s that were boarding the _Kusanagi_. He knew Kira had a valid point. Maybe together, they could find what they should really be fighting against and bring this war to an end.

* * *

_The Powell_

"They're gathering at Kaguya?"

"Yes, it looks like they're getting ready to make their last stand." Oswald answered.

Azrael smirked. "Attha still is insisting to drag this out to the bitter end. Actually I find this quite amusing. It'll be more satisfying when we crush them all into the dust."

"Director." An officer said. "The machines have been resupplied and are ready. Shall I give the order to launch?"

"Of course, you dolt!" Azrael barked. "Send them out immediately!" Moments later, he watched as the Raider, the Forbidden, the Calamity, and the Massacre took off.

* * *

_Mass Driver Control Room_

"Sir! Incoming mobile suits! It's those four!"

Samuel swore. The _Archangel_'s launch was about to begin. They couldn't let those four interfere. There was only one thing they could to buy time. "Remaining ORB forces. This is General Dante. Those four new Earth Forces machines are heading for the Mass Driver. You must stop them for as long as you can so we can launch the _Archangel_ and the _Kusanagi_." he said over the comm. "But don't be heroes. Just buy us some time."

_"Don't worry sir! We won't let those bastards reach Kaguya!"_

He closed the comm line and saluted the men and women he had just sent to their deaths. "Initiate the final launch sequence! Get the _Archangel_ into space now!"

* * *

"It's those four again." Kira said as the Freedom and the other mobile suits powered up. "We'll cover your launch, _Archangel_."

"Dearka, Nicol, Saul, return to the _Archangel_. Your machines aren't equipped for an aerial battle." Athrun ordered.

_"Fine."_ Deakra grumbled as the three of them headed for the _Archangel_. _"But you guys better watch your backs out there."_

"We will."

"You better go too Chris." Kira added. "We may have to make a sudden escape and the Exia may not have the power to make it."

"Right. Just make sure you guys catch the last bus out of here." Chris said, joining the others heading for the _Archangel_.

"Don't worry. We will." Kira replied as they headed towards the incoming mobile suits.

"Nisha, you had best get on as well. Your machine will not be able to reach orbit, even when on my machine." Aki' instructed his cousin.

_"You be careful. I don't want to lose you again."_ Nisha replied.

"You got it."

Once the last of the mobile suits boarded the _Archangel_ and were secured in its hanger, the ship started its launch. Once it was up in the air, the _Archangel_ fired its Lohengrin cannons, creating a Positronic Interference Effect as it activated the additional boosters from the _Kusanagi_ that had been mounted on the ship, propelling the white warship into the atmosphere.

Inside the control room, Uzumi and Samuel watched the _Archangel_ heading into space. Next to them was Cagalli, pleading with her father. "Father, please! There's no reason for you to stay here! We can escape together!"

Uzumi turned to his daughter. She was wrong. There was one final thing for him to do. "What are you still doing here, Cagalli?" he said, grabbing her arm and started to drag her away from the control room. Samuel followed them. "We have our responsibilities, as you have yours! All will be lost if no one is left to carry out our hopes!"

"The _Kusanagi_ has been fully loaded and all components are configured for launch." one of the members of the government called over the intercom. The facility shook as the battle outside drew closer. At last, Uzumi, Samuel, and his daughter reached the ship as Kisaka waved to them. "Lord Uzumi! General Dante! Cagalli! Hurry!" he called out.

Uzumi shoved Cagalli towards Kisaka, but remained on the platform. "Hurry, Kisaka. And please take care of my foolish daughter."

"No father!" Cagalli pleaded, her eyes watering.

Uzumi looked to her and his hardened expression became softer. He wiped tears that dripped from her eyes. "Stop giving me that look. It doesn't suit the daughter of the Lion of ORB." He said, comforting her. "You may be losing your father, but you won't be alone." He then handed her photo of a young woman cradling two newborns in her arms. "You'll be with your brother."

Cagalli was shocked by what he had just said and looked on the back of the photo. In the lower corner, two names were scribbled on the photo. '_Kira_' and '_Cagalli_'. She gasped, overwhelmed by this sudden revelation. She looked up at her father, who nodded, confirming the truth of the matter.

Uzumi turned to Samuel. "You as well Samuel." he said to the aging general.

Samuel was visibly stunned by this request. "But-"

"Go. My daughter will need someone to help her and guide her in the years to come."

Samuel sighed and nodded. "It has been a privilege and an honor." he said as they shook hands for the last time.

"Indeed it has. For the both of us."

Samuel turned around and boarded the _Kusanagi_ as well. Uzumi turned to his daughter for the last time and smiled. "I feel very fortunate to have been your father." He did not even see the form behind him.

A _THUNK_ on the back of the neck and small needle prick made Uzumi glance back, his body suddenly weak. He could barely stand up. The one who had hit him was Hali.

"Hali…but…why…" With those few words, he passed out. Lord Uzumi was loaded into the _Kusanagi_, a stunned Cagalli looking at her father's aid.

"I'm sorry, Uzumi, but your daughter needs you. I cannot allow a family to be torn apart when it is preventable."

At that moment, the hull door was sealed shut, separating them, and the catwalk pulled away. "Go now. Everything rests on you all from here on!" He called before retreating back to the command center.

The _Kusanagi_'s bridge crew performed the final systems check as did those in the Mass Driver Control Room. Everything was ready to go.

"Departure of all personnel except those in Division C is confirmed."

"All systems are a go."

"Launch the _Kusanagi_." Hali ordered as he reached the control room.

The Mass Driver activated as the _Kusanagi_'s engines ignited. The vessel started to slide across the Driver ramp. Slow at first. But steadily gaining speed as it went. But this did not go unnoticed. The eight mobile suit pilots battling near the Mass Driver noticed it. All four Extended pilots turned to the _Kusanagi_. They failed to stop the white ship, so they weren't gonna let this one get away. While for Kira, Aki', Heero, and Athrun, it was their last chance to get into space.

All of them headed for the _Kusanagi_, with the Freedom and the Justice in front. Kira reached the ship first, landing on the _Kusanagi_ and grabbing a hold of its side. Kira turned to Athrun, who was struggling to reach the ship. Kira extended the Freedom's hand to the Justice as the Earth Forces machines started firing at them. But all of their shots went wide, missing the ship and the mobile suits.

Athrun finally managed to grab the Freedom's hand and Kira pulled him in. Once the Justice was secure, both of them turned around to face their attacks and let loose a barrage. The shots hit the water, sending up a huge geyser in the path of the Extended, stopping them.

Aki' landed on the _Kusanagi_, Heero right beside him. The two joined in on the barrage, which helped to stop the attacks even further.

At that moment, the _Kusanagi_ cleared the ramp, rocketing into the heavens.

* * *

_Mass Driver Control Room_

Lord Halii and most of Orb's government were gathered, watching the _Kusanagi_ fly into space with the Freedom, the Wing, Wing Zero, and the Justice on it. "We've done it. The seeds have flown." Hali said as his hand reached for a single, large red button on the console, his expression hardening. "We can't leave ORB or this world in the hands of those bastards."

His finger pushed the button...

The bombs that had been planted went off. A massive fireball consumed Morgenroete as explosions traveled along ORB's Mass Diver, destroying both and robbing the Alliance of its sole reasons for invading ORB. Aboard the Powell, Azrael watched in horror as everything they had worked for went up in flames. Those damn Biological CPUs had completely failed him! He'd make sure the doctors held off giving them their medicine for half a day at least, as punishment for their failure. He slammed his fists into the armrests of his chair. "Damn you Uzumi Nara Athha!" he screamed.

Aboard the _Kusanagi_, Cagalli cried out for her father's aid as the fireball consumed the entire Mass Driver facility.

* * *

_Washington D.C…_

President Hilson stared at the news feed, which was showing the Kaguya Mass Driver exploding in a large ball of fire. It had been only one day since they had driven off the Earth Forces attack force, and yet ORB had not had such a success. It had been a loss.

She could only stare in shock at the fireball, wondering if Lord Uzumi even made it out alive. Tears shimmered in her eyes, falling onto her desk. "Uzumi…you…you…couldn't have…"

Images of her family, her father, mother, and adopted brother, came into her mind: Flames leaping about as their charred forms lay on the floor of her house. Her pain, all over her body, searing pain so bad she passed out; the whine of the ambulance, the heart monitor beeping; her cries at losing her family she had loved so very much.

She shook her head, bringing herself out of her shock. There was no denying it, even if she wanted to. Even though the politician in her told her that Lord Uzumi had just been a means to an end, the soldier, the _person_ inside her said otherwise. _That_ part of her told her a person closest to being a friend had been lost.

And she finally let out a primal cry that was one of loss…

* * *

_7th Fleet_

Tao watched the live feed that was being broadcasted from ORB into space. The Mass Driver had been destroyed. Ever since she and her fleet had left Earth for space, she had been following the news feeds being sent up from Earth. And this was just the latest feed she had seen.

"So, ORB blew up their Mass Driver, eh?" Heidi asked.

Tao just looked back at her. "Hey, it does not help that ORB was attacked by the Earth Forces. If anything, they did what they had to do to prevent them from getting it."

Heidi snorted once. "Heh. The Earth Forces tried to gain something the hard way. Reminds me of the Second World War when the Swedish people tricked the Nazis into letting them stay independent. They gained the iron ore, but lost the nation. If the Nazis had conquered the country, they would have gained the country, but lost the ore, due to the Swedes rigging their mines to blow if they were ever invaded. ORB pulled a Sweden here, by blowing up the Mass Driver."

Commander Wolfe just smirked. "A very effective tactic, if you ask me."

"Yeah, considering that ORB is a small island nation, they would have fallen to the Earth Forces anyway. So, by destroying the one thing that the Earth Alliance wanted more than anything, it became a hollow victory."

Tao smirked in response. "Very true."

Commander Wolfe looked back at the feed again. "I heard that there was a second attack taking place at the same time, in some nation known as the United States."

Tao looked at her fellow commander in shock, Heidi also stunned. Both females could hardly believe it. Aisha, her communications officer, was also in surprise. "W-w-what?"

"You heard me. The nation known as the United States was also attacked." Commander Wolfe replied.

Shock filled Tao's body as she began to shake. Her homeland-no, her _country_, her_ home NATION_\- had been attacked?! The Earth Forces had attacked the _UNITED STATES_?! She began to feel weak, slipping back into her seat.

"The United States…was _attacked_?!"

Commander Wolfe nodded, confirming Tao's worst fears. She felt limp, unable to move. "No…there is no way…they can't have fallen…"

"Well, ZAFT is saying that they did."

Tears began to well up in the commander's eyes, her feelings of discomfort becoming more pronounced. Heidi then spoke up. "Well, if NASA really did fall, then why is their flag still flying, and why are the Earth Forces leaving with fewer mobile suits than when they arrived?"

Tao looked up, disbelief on her face. "Huh?"

Heidi just spoke again. "NASA could not have fallen. Only a small nation like ORB would have fallen so soon. The United States is a big nation, not to mention they have more power than anyone else."

Tao realized Heidi was right. "The U.S…it _does_ have more power than any other nation! There is _no_ way that they could have fallen. It's just not possible!"

Looking back at the PLANT homeland, Tao felt disgust. "If ZAFT wants to claim that even the United States is weak, then I feel that we don't belong here."

Heidi nodded. "I agree. After Panama, there is no way that I will continue to serve with such nutjobs."

Commander Wolfe also agreed. "Yes. If this is the road ZAFT wants to take, then we should leave."

"Then it is agreed. We will defect from ZAFT." Tao ordered. "Head towards New Juneau! We have a nation to defend!"

* * *

The Battle of ORB ends with the retreat of everyone vital, and that includes Lord Uzumi and now Akira, who arrives to aid in the battle. As ORB falls, the 7th Fleet prepares to defect. What will happen next? Read on to find out what happens next~! :3

On that note, any flames or troll reviews **_WILL_** be reported and/or deleted depending on if they are signed or not. Those kinds of reviews are **_NOT_** tolerated by **ANY** means. If there **are** such reviews, they **WILL** be reported, not even responded to or acknowledged.


	28. Phase 27: Trembling World

Phase Twenty-Seven: Trembling World

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. Nor do I own Martin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: You never know, I just may have Armada Starscream appear~! ;3**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :)**

**A0930: Trust me, Shinn **will** get some character development over the course of the next arc. It will be slow, but it **will** happen. No spoilers though, as I don't want to give anything away. Sorry. :( Anyway, as for Naturals having the SEED, yes, they can. And I have some twists you will like for sure. ;)**

**nki:** PLEASE** use a **consistent** guest name! Geez... But I am glad you still like it. But I want to know **_WHAT_** you love about it, not just that you like it, even though I like hearing that as well.**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those with an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you are a guest without an account, **PLEASE** put a **CONSISTENT** guest name. Thanks!**

* * *

_Earth Orbit_

The Freedom, the Justice, the Exia, the Wing, Wing Zero, the Farsight, and the _Kusanagi'_s Astrays floated around the separated compartments of the _Kusanagi_, aiding in the vessel's assembly.

John couldn't help but smile as the Farsight flew around a section of the _Kusanagi_. "Ah... It feels so good to be in space again."

_"When was the last time you were in space?"_ Kira asked.

"Far too long. I'm not a ground-pounder like Andy was. Space is where I belong." John replied as Wing Zero moved a part past his machine. "You should have seen us when we were your age. Individually, we were skilled pilots, but together we were truly formidable, filling out the other's weaknesses, leaving only our strengths. It's a shame that we will never fight side by side again. But I'm rambling and we have work to do. Come on let's get back to work."

* * *

_The Archangel's Bridge_

_"We're done with the docking operations."_ Kisaka reported. _"After a final systems check, we'll be set to disembark."_

"That's good to hear." Murrue replied, but her expression was still somber. "How's Cagalli?"

Kisaka hesitated for moment. _"She has calmed down somewhat, but it's been very hard on her."_

_"At the moment, none of us have heart to tell her not to cry." _Samuel added.

Murrue nodded. "All right, with your permission, we'll come over and discuss our next move."

_"Okay. We'll make preparations for you and await your arrival."_ Kisaka said. _"Over and out."_

* * *

_Aboard the Kusanagi_

_A Short While Later_

Inside the crew quarters section of the _Kusanagi_, Cagalli sat alone in her room's lavatory. Her eyes were red and puffed from her crying. It felt like the entire world had collapsed the instant the Kaguya Mass Driver exploded. She stepped over to the sink and turned on the water, filling a small basin. Once it was full, she plunged her head into the cool water. When she straightened up and her vision cleared, she looked at her reflection. Her hair was a wet, tangled mess while her face was tired and ragged. Then her intercom buzzed. _"Cagalli?"_

It was Kira. But she didn't answer.

_"Is everything all right?"_ Kira asked.

She still didn't answer right away. She grabbed a towel and dried off her face. She came out and answered her door, finding both Kira and Athrun standing outside.

"Sorry." She said, turning away from them. "But could you please let me have a little more time to myself?"

Kira nodded. "Sure." he said, leaving with Athrun.

Cagalli returned to her bed and pulled the photo her father gave her from her pocket. She stared at the two infants, knowing that she was one of the infants. The other was apparently Kira. Her long lost sibling that she had no knowledge of. But how was it possible? And just who was this woman? Their birth mother? Then who was their father? And why had they been separated? She shook her head. There were too many unanswered questions about this whole situation.

* * *

A shuttle was launched from the _Archangel_, heading for the _Kusanagi_. Mu piloted the craft, with Murrue sitting next to him in the copilot chair.

"The real challenge is ahead of us." Mu commented.

"Yes, I know that." She answered. "ORB has left us with a heavy burden. I only hope that we are able to carry out the task."

Once they all arrived on board, Samuel, Kisaka and John met up with them and led them towards the bridge. "The _Kusanagi_ was originally used as a communications ship with Heliopolis." Kisaka explained. "It is capable enough as a mobile suit carrier with adequate armaments, but it still doesn't compare to the _Archangel_."

"So, this ship is made up of five compartments." Mu said. "And everyone on board travels between the compartments through the center. Talk about efficient."

Kisaka nodded and they turned one last corner before reaching the bridge. They entered and Murrue and Mu were even more surprised.

"This is just like the _Archangel_'s bridge." Murrue commented.

"This surprises you? After all, both ships were designed by Morgenroete." Kisaka replied, turning to a person at a console. "Can you bring up a map of this region of space?"

"Sure." A familiar voice answered. Murrue and Mu looked to see a woman whom they were both familiar with.

"Chief Erica Simmons." Mu said with a grin. "It's good to see that you made it as well."

"And she's not the only one here." another familiar voice said from behind.

Murrue and Mu turned to the voice. Johanna Dante. "Since we'll be using M1s and the other new suits in the unfamiliar environment of space, we're here to make sure they function smoothly." Erica said as she typed on the keyboard in front of her, bringing up a map on a nearby screen.

"This is our present location." Samuel said, pointing to a flashing green dot. "As you know, all the PLANTs and New Juneau are located at L5 and Artemis is at L3. For the time being, we should make our way towards the L4 area."

As they talked, Kira, Athrun, Chris, Aki', Heero and Cagalli stepped onto the bridge.

"What's at L4?" Murrue asked.

"There are some abandoned colonies located there." Samuel explained. "The _Kusanagi_ and _Archangel_ won't need supplies for some time. But we still have limits, especially concerning water. The colonies at L4 were damaged and abandoned shortly after the fighting began. While they are uninhabited, they'll be useful as a means of a water supply."

"This sounds awfully familiar." Chris muttered, remembering a similar dilemma the _Archangel _faced months ago, concerning a low water supply.

"Don't worry." Mu said, trying to assure him. "This isn't like Junius Seven."

"There might actually be several fully functioning colonies at L4." Athrun spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "Quite a while back, ZAFT investigated reports of a suspicious group roaming the area, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Also, while nobody actually lives there, there should be some colonies operational facilities. They'd be prefect for an out of the way hideout for the time being."

"That sounds like a great plan." Kira said.

"Indeed. The Mendel Colony would be the most ideal." Samuel said, focused entirely the map.

"Mendel? Wasn't that place abandoned sixteen years because of some biohazard accident?" John asked. "Would it really be safe to go there?"

Samuel glanced at him. "Trust me. We want to go to Mendel."

Unnoticed by the others, Samuel pulled out a pocket hard drive. _'It's time for them to learn the dark past of Mendel. All of them.'_ he thought before putting the device back into his pocket.

The others wondered why he was so insistent on Mendel.

Mu turned to Athrun. "Hey, are you sure that you're okay with this?" he asked. "And not just you, this goes for those other guys from ZAFT."

"Commander?" Murrue asked, but Mu held up his hand.

"I saw what you all did at ORB and your actions spoke for themselves, but I can't help but notice the uniforms you're still wearing. And depending how things go out there, there's a very good chance that we'll end up fighting ZAFT forces. This won't be like ORB, so are you really ready for this? I know John is with us regardless. But you and the others are different. And you are Patrick Zala's son."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Cagalli demanded.

"For a soldier to defect is a more serious matter than you seem to think." Mu shot back. "On top of that, it's all the more serious when your own father's comrade is the leader of the nation as well. It's difficult to fight a war unless you believe in the cause you're fighting for, all the more so when that belief is turned on his head. I hate to press the issue, but I need to know that I can count on you if we fight together. So can I?"

A heavy silence filled the bridge. Not a word was uttered for a painfully long moment. Athrun finally took a deep breath.

"All I can say is this. Recently I've seen, heard, and thought many things about what's supposed to be right and wrong. I'll admit there are some things I do understand and a lot that I don't. The one thing that is clear to me is that the world I hope for is shared by you all. I'll do what I can to see that our shared goal is achieved."

Aki' looked at his own uniform, which Mu noticed right away. "That uniform…Are you with them?"

The Coordinator looked up, shocked but still in control of himself. "If you mean the No Attack-Zone, America Firma Terra division of the United States armed forces, then yes, I am."

"So you defected?" Kira asked.

"Yes. I did."

Chris was just as confused as the others. "But why? Given what happened to your sister, wouldn't you remain with ZAFT to get revenge for her?"

Aki' shook his head. "No. In fact, ZAFT hid the circumstances of her death from my family, and refused to get justice for her because the one who ordered her dead was Rau Le Creuset, that ZAFT white coat."

Everyone stared in shock, but they did not have time to dwell on it.

Mu hesitated to answer, but then smiled. "You both sound very determined, and that's a good answer." He then looked to Murrue and the others. "ORB has entrusted us with a heavy task, and we are only two ships. It may be impossible to do anything that won't be in vain."

"You know, there are people in the PLANTs who think the same way." Athrun said.

Kira turned around. "You mean Lacus?"

Athrun nodded.

"Oh, the pink princess, huh?" Mu commented.

"Yeah, she's Athrun's fiancée." Kira said.

There were some gasps and Athrun saw Cagalli give him a quick glance, but turned away just as fast.

Well, actually their engagement had been nullified by Athrun's father. It just hadn't been made public yet. And this really wasn't the time or the place to inform the others about it. "She and her father are being hunted as traitors." Athrun informed them. "By order of my father's comrade."

"Same as I was. Well, ZAFT would have if I didn't defect to stay alive." Aki' growled.

"But she's not our only ally." John said. "If I can get in touch with my comrades, I should be able to convince them to join us."

"You're referring to the 11th Fleet, aren't you?" Mu asked.

"Yes I am."

"What makes you think that they'll be willing to defect like that?"

"Trust me. They'll be likely to join us."

"If I can get in contact with the 7th Fleet as well, we might be able to turn the tide of the war." Aki' offered. "Most of them are from NASA or were born there before they moved to the PLANTs. If anything, their ideals should make them likely to join us."

Murrue cleared her throat. "It's settled then. We'll head for L4 and gather supplies there."

"One more thing Captain Ramius, I understand you have a vacancy in CIC since Ensign Badgiruel was reassigned. I'd like to fill that vacancy, if that's okay with you." Samuel said.

Everyone was caught off guard by this. "But I thought you'd be commanding the _Kusanagi_."

"Kisaka is more familiar with the _Kusanagi_ than I am. So he'd be better off as its Captain. Besides, we're not really an official army, so our ranks are pretty much meaningless."

Murrue nodded. "Very well, then. I accept your offer General Dante."

* * *

_Aboard the Powell_

_ORB_

Azrael was furious. While the invasion of ORB had been a success, the whole reason for invading the nation had been lost. Those blasted Biological CPUs just weren't proving to be that combat effective. They needed to be properly motivated. He entered the medical room where they had been placed after returning to the _Powell_. The four Biological CPUs were crying out in agony from their withdrawal. Shani and Orga were sprawled out on beds in the room. Shani was half curled up into a ball while Orga was on his back; his hands had a death grip on the edges of the bed. Clotho was lying against a wall, clutching his sides. And Martin was lying on his stomach and writhing on the ground. "Now boys, we need to have a little discussion." Azrael said.

Martin looked up at him. "Please...stop...pain..."

Azrael responded by stomping on his hand, causing Martin to scream in pain. Then a foot hit his face, rolling him onto his side. Azrael gave him a few more kicks to the lower abdomen. "Not until our discussion is done." he said, turning to Clotho. "Now, the four of you have failed us at ORB. Failed _me_. And well...that can't happen again."

Azrael's foot slammed into Clotho's stomach. Clotho let out a gurgling groan as he clutched his stomach. A fist hit Clotho's face. This was followed by another, and another. And another before Azrael stopped. "Because of your failures here, we lost ORB's Mass Driver and any technology we could have gained from Morgenroete." he continued, grabbing Shani's hair and pulling his head up, causing Shani to whimper. "And this is your punishment for that colossal failure."

Azrael punched the green-haired Extended. Shani moaned as he grabbed his now bleeding nose. Azrael pulled something out of his pocket. It was a Taser. A second later, Shani was howling in pain as electricity flowed through his body. "But I'm a forgiving man. In fact, you should consider yourselves lucky that I'm the one calling the shots. There are those that would send you back to Lodonia for this failure, where all of you would never, ever see the light of day again. But I'm a forgiving man. So I'll give you one more chance."

Azrael pulled Orga up by his collar and punched him before shocking him as well with the Taser. He then pocketed the Taser, dusted his off his hands and headed for the door. "The doctors will be coming by soon to give you your medicine. And in a few hours, we'll be leaving to join the Victoria Operation. And I expect the four of you to win us the battle." He paused at the doorway and added, "But should anything happen to that Mass Driver... Well, you'll wish I sent you back to Lodonia. Do you understand?"

"Y...Yes..."

"Got...it..."

"Yeah..."

"We won't...fail again..."

"Make sure that you don't." Azrael casually replied as he left.

In a few hours, the cargo planes would be ready to transport the Calamity, the Forbidden, the Massacre and the Raider to the staging area of the upcoming Victoria Operation. And they would either succeed or be sent back to Lodonia.

* * *

_Armory One_

"What's the status on the mobile suits?" Commander Kessel asked as she watched the crews work on their new GuAIZs.

"Well sir, we've almost got them all done. All of them should be full upgrade within a few more days." Chief Hughes answered. "I have to say, these new machines are impressive. I bet even those new Earth Forces mobile suits won't stand a chance against these machines when ZAFT starts cranking them out on the field."

Diana turned her gaze to the GuAIZ being painted in her colors. "Indeed. They are impressive. But we have yet to see if they are superior to the Earth Forces new machines." she commented.

But her mind was on other matters. Things had taken a drastic turn for the worst in the homeland during her brief time on Earth. One of the new nuclear prototypes had been stolen. The Clyne family declared traitors to ZAFT. Clyne's supporters on the Council arrested. Her own father was on the run. How had things fallen apart so fast? And how was this whole thing going to end?

"Commander!" a voice called out, disrupting her thoughts.

Diana turned to the voice. It was Lucius. "What is it?" she asked.

"We just received word. The battle for ORB and NASA has ended." he answered. "The Alliance won but ORB destroyed Morgenroete and its Mass Driver before they surrendered. NASA managed to drive back the Earth Alliance and preserve their Mass Driver at the same time."

"I see."

"But that's not all, sir. A private message has arrived for you sir."

"Who is the message from?"

"_Him _sir."

"Have it send to my quarters."

"Already done sir."

Diana nodded. "Good."

* * *

_Aboard the Odin_

_A Short While Later_

Diana entered her quarters and sat down at her desk. A disk was sitting on the desk. She inserted the disk into the computer. The Commander's face appeared on the screen.

"_Things are heating up here on Earth. And I don't know when or even if you receive this message. As you may or may not already know, I am on board the new Earth Forces warship from Heliopolis, the _Archangel._ We just managed to escape from JOSH-A before the Cyclops System was activated. But if it wasn't for the Freedom, or even Wing Zero destroying the system, we probably wouldn't have made it. N-Jammer Cancelers... I had never hoped to see such a thing created. You know, when the first nuclear weapons were used, there were those that called them miracle weapons, capable of leveling enemy cities with a single bomb. Frankly, I fail to see the miraculousness of such weapons. They only make it easier for people to commit mass murder. There is no place for such weapons in true war. Even the Freedom and any other mobile suits like it don't belong in war."_

"_But I'm rambling now. Regardless, Pandora's Box has been opened again. And it's only a matter of time until the Earth Forces figure out a way to nullify the N-Jammers. Or worse, gain access to ZAFT's Canceler. And considering what they tried to do at JOSH-A, I don't think they'd hesitate to use nuclear weapons again. And if Wu's now running things in the PLANTs, then it's likely that if the Alliance starts to beat back ZAFT on Earth, he won't hesitate to either. You must talk with your father. He and Clyne's supporters need to be ready to prevent Wu from using such weapons against the Earth, no matter the cost."_

"_And now that Hong Fa Wu's running ZAFT, you can expect him to take some action against you and the Fleet. Especially if what I heard you did at Panama is true. He knows you won't blindly follow his orders. And that makes you a threat. I don't need to tell you to be careful. But I will anyway. Be careful._

"_There is one other thing I wish to tell you, your little brother is alive and well. He was captured by us before we arrived at JOSH-A, and has been in the ship's brig ever since. Captain Ramius, Captain of the _Archangel_, will probably soon now that we're in ORB. After they're released, they'll probably find a way to get back to Carpentaria."_

"_Well... I'm running out of time here. So good bye Diana and make sure nothing happens to my Fleet."_

The message ended and the screen went blank. Diana tapped a finger on the desk, thinking. Things were changing. ZAFT was changing. And she didn't like where Wu was trying to take them.

* * *

_The Kusanagi's Hanger_

Athrun stared out at the crews working in the hanger. But his mind was now on the fact of his father was now leading the PLANTs down a dark road and he feared what would happen. He also feared for Lacus, wondering about her safety.

"Athrun."

He looked to see Kira, Aki', Heero, and Chris enter the room. All of them were back in their flightsuits. "Captain Ramius and the others are returning to the _Archangel_, let's head back too." Kira said.

"Sure."

Just then, the door opened again. They all turned to the door and watched Cagalli enter. "Kira." She said. "There's something we need to talk about."

"We'll give you some privacy." Athrun said as he and Chris turned to leave, but Cagalli stopped them.

"No, please stay."

Both teens glanced at each other, shrugged and nodded. Cagalli passed them and went over to Kira.

"What's on your mind?" he asked.

Cagalli gulped and reached into her pocket. "This." she replied, pulling out the photo.

Kira took it as Athrun and Chris came over for a look. Aki' and Heero also peered at the photo. "A woman and her babies? Who is this?"

"Look on the back." Cagalli said.

Kira looked and gasped when he saw the names scribbled on the back.

"My father gave me this just before I boarded the _Kusanagi_." She explained. "He told me that I wouldn't be alone, that my brother would be with me. But, now that he is on the ship that seems kind of moot."

Kira's eyes widened at the mention of the word 'brother'. Athrun and Chris both glanced back and forth at the photo and their friends. Athrun could suddenly see a resemblance, but he wasn't sure. He opened his mouth to say something. But he found that nothing came out. Chris on the other hand...

"Wait. Let me get this straight. Your father gave you this photo and told you that you'd be with your brother. And your brother is supposed to be Kira. Correct?"

Cagalli nodded.

Chris shook his head. "This is like some bad soap opera." he muttered.

Aki' just sighed in disbelief. Heero just grunted once like he normally did. "Hn."

"What does this all mean?" Cagalli asked, ignoring him. "I don't understand."

"Whatever it may be, this only doesn't tell us anything really." Kira replied.

"But what if this…?" she said. "What does that make me? Who am I really?"

"Dwelling on it won't do any good, Cagalli." Kira said, comforting her. "And it doesn't change the fact the Lord Uzumi was, and still is, your father."

"Kira." She whispered. "I'm just so confused."

"You are still you, Cagalli Yula Attha. It does not make you anyone else. Only _you_ as a person can determine that." Aki' replied.

Heero nodded as well, a small comforting gesture that Cagalli took heart in.

A short time later, she watched as the Freedom, the Justice, the Exia, the Wing, Wing Zero, the Farsight and the _Archangel_'s shuttle exited the hanger. Kira took a glance back at her as she stood in the waiting room.

_"Shouldn't you stay with her for now?"_ Athrun asked.

"No, if I'm with her, she wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it." Kira replied. "It'd best if we both had some time to let this sink in."

Of course, he had to admit that he too couldn't stop thinking about this situation. The more he thought about it, the more questions he had.

_"It could have been worse."_ Chris said.

"How so?"

_"The two of you could have been well...You know, 'close' when you found out."_ Chris said with a chuckle.

"Gah! Don't even joke about that!" an annoyed and slightly embarrassed Kira said, which only caused Chris to laugh more.

Aki' also laughed as he flew by in the Wing. _"Oh sure. Like you two wouldn't have made babies by then."_

That made Kira blush and Heero crack up with laughter, a first anyone had even heard from him.

_"Kira, when we get back, do you think Captain Ramius will let me borrow a shuttle?"_ Athrun asked, changing the conversation.

"Athrun?"

_"I need to make a visit to the PLANTs. I need to speak to father and Chairman Wu about a lot of things."_

Kira nodded. "I understand."

* * *

_Washington D.C._

Defense Secretary John Keller looked over the reports on the N-Jammer project. It seemed to be going well, but there were still problems that no one had expected. The fact that NASA now had an N-Jammer had not changed though. They now had an advantage that ZAFT had not counted on.

As the data flowed in from the Great Lakes Naval Base, the defense secretary knew that they were still running on borrowed time as it was. "We need to complete the project before ZAFT attacks again…"

He closed his eyes as he put the paper down on the desk before him. Defense Secretary Keller stood up, walking over to the windows of his office. "What ZAFT can't know is what we have planned. If the project succeeds as planned, then they will have lost their one defense against the missiles we have."

Opening his eyes, the older Natural then walked over to his desk. Opening up a small folder, he took out a sheet of data on N-Jammers that had already been obtained. The data matched that of the current N-Jammer under study. Keller smiled as he looked over the data he had obtained not too long ago.

It seemed to be imminent that NASA would overcome the N-Jammers, and soon would be the undisputed power in the world, both on Earth and in space.

"We need those missiles, and not just for the defense of the PLANTs either. We need them for our own defense as well, because if we have those missiles active once again, then the Earth Forces would be unwilling to pull an attack on us again." He murmured as he looked back out the windows at the sky above the Pentagon.

* * *

_Lesseps Class, the Ares_

_ZAFT Victoria Base_

_A Few Days Later_

"Admiral Thule! Incoming enemy contacts! They're mobile suits!"

"Scramble all mobile suits!" Admiral Thule ordered. "Intercept the enemy!"

They had come. Thule knew the Alliance would attack sooner or later. With the loss of Panama, it was inevitable, though their decision to attack ORB had certainly surprised him. He never would have thought that the Alliance would get that desperate. But their attack had allowed them to regroup and gather at the two Mass Drivers they held. Just in case.

The Earth Forces won't find an easy battle. He had made sure of that. And they were prepared if need be, to destroy the Mass Driver rather than have them get their hands on it.

But what had really surprised him was the decision to attack _NASA_ as well. Of all the nations to attack, the Earth Forces had chosen the one that had happened to be the most powerful on the whole planet _as well_ as in space! Of course, NASA had, as expected for ones of their strength and caliber, driven the attacking Alliance forces back, though not without losses. Still, only one Mass Driver remained in Natural hands, and thankfully it was not in Alliance territory.

* * *

_Spengler Class Carrier, the Enterprise_

_Waters near the Victoria Base_

Clotho, Martin, Orga and Shani silently powered up their machines.

"Now remember boys, don't fail this time." Azrael said over the comm.

The four Extended pilots simply nodded. They weren't going to fail again. They couldn't afford to. Moments later, they took off, heading for Victoria.

A group of BuCUEs fired at a squad of advancing Strike Daggers. Some of the Daggers fell, but most remained standing. "Come on!" the ZAFT squad leader shouted. "Let's show these Naturals who is bet-"

A beam tore through the BuCUE. The Massacre landed in front of the rest of the BuCUEs. Martin roared as he fired off missiles and beams at the remaining BuCUEs, destroying them. The Dagger pilots let out a cheer. "See that men! That's how you deal with those damn Coordinators." an Earth Forces lieutenant said.

But Martin was already gone, searching for more opponents.

Elsewhere, a wing of DINNs fired on Raider. But their bullets did nothing to the Raider's Trans Phase Armor. "Pests! You're all going down!" Clotho shouted, firing his railgun and beam cannon.

The beams and slugs made quick work of the ZAFT mobile suits.

A group of ZuOOTs fired on a trio of Daggers, destroying them. But out of the smoke, a trio of beams flew out, hitting one of the mobile suits. The Calamity emerged from the smoke. "What the hell is that?" one ZAFT pilot shouted.

_"Who cares? Destroy it!"_

Suddenly, Orga fired his bazooka and shield cannon at the ZuOOTs as they tried to fire back. Those ZuOOTs that survived managed to inflict no damage to the Calamity. "Sorry. That's not good enough!" Orga shouted before finishing them off.

The Forbidden sliced through a GINN as other GINNs fruitless fired their rifles at it. A CGUE fired its beam rifle, hoping that he could destroy the Forbidden with it. But Shani lowered his shields, deflecting the beams into a GINN. The CGUE pilot was stunned by the sight of his beams hitting a comrade. Shani laughed as he fired his railguns at the CGUE.

The Alliance was winning. The remaining ZAFT Forces couldn't hold the base for much longer, especially against those four new machines. They were just too powerful. There was only one option left for them. "Activate the bombs!" Thule ordered. "Destroy the Mass Driver!"

An officer nodded, keying in the first half of the self-destruct code for the Mass Driver. Thule typed in the second half of the code. "You may take Victoria. But like ORB, it will be a hollow victory!" he said, hitting the execute button...

...But nothing happened. The bombs on the Mass Driver didn't go off. Thule slammed his fist into the console in frustration. A commando team must have infiltrated the base ahead of the main attack force and disabled the bombs. There was no other explanation why the bombs hadn't detonated.

"All remaining mobile suits are to fire on the Mass Driver! We can't let the Alliance have it!"

But as if on cue, those four powerful mobile suits descended on the Mass Driver.

* * *

_"You heard the order!"_ a CGUE pilot said. _"We can't let the Mass Driver fall in their-"_

A beam tore through the CGUE, silencing the pilot. The remaining pilots looked up. The Calamity was descending on the group. "Come on! We can't let that thing be destroyed!" Orga shouted, firing on the GINNs.

A trio of BuCUEs fired off a barrage of missiles at the Mass Driver. But all of the missiles were shot out of the air by a barrage of beams and bullets. Martin turned to the mobile suits. "I'm not going back there! I hate it there! So die!" he roared, targeting the BuCUEs.

A pair of GINNs, armed with Barrus heavy particle cannons, fired their weapons at the Mass Driver. But before they could hit their target, the Forbidden appeared and deflected the beams away from the Mass Driver.

"Not happening." he said, firing his railguns at the GINNs.

A group of DINNs soared down towards the Mass Driver and fired off their missiles. Suddenly, the Raider appeared, swinging its heavy hammer in a circle in front of it. The missiles hit the Raider's makeshift shield and exploded. "Up! Down!" Clotho shouted, firing his Zorn cannon twice, destroying two of the DINNs.

"Left!" His hammer destroyed another.

"Right!" His railgun shot the fourth DINN from the sky.

"A! B!" The beam cannon and railgun finished the final two off.

But Clotho didn't gloat over his victory. Instead, before the remains of the final DINNs hit the ground, he was off, attacking other ZAFT mobile suits that dared to threaten the Mass Driver. The four Extendeds fought fiercely like they had no tomorrow, which, if they failed, was true.

* * *

Thule gritted his teeth. The Mass Driver was theirs now. There was nothing he could do to change that today. "Sound the retreat!" he ordered. "The _Ares_, the _Michael Edwards_ and the _Taurus_ will cover the retreat!"

"But Admiral-"

"Silence, Brunt! We need to preserve the lives of as many ZAFT soldiers as we can!"

Several squads of Strike Daggers had now joined the four Earth Forces prototypes at the Mass Driver. Azrael's voice came over the comm. _"Good work boys. The Strike Daggers will protect the Mass Driver now. But we can't let all of those Coordinators escape. Destroy them."_

The four of them grinned as they took off for the core of the retreating ZAFT forces. The work was over. Now it was time some fun.

"Admiral! Those four machines are approaching!"

"All mobile suits! All batteries! Open fire on them!" Thule shouted. "Shoot them down!"

The guns of the Lesseps class, its two Petrie class escorts and the nearby mobile suits opened fire on the four. But the Extended pilots effortless dodged or blocked the worst of the shots and fired back. DINNs in the air were blown out of the sky. GINNs, BuCUEs and ZuOOTs on the ground were bombarded by their various weapons. "These guys are no fun." Shani complained.

_"Who cares?" _Clotho said as they continued towards the three land battleships. _"They die all the same."_

Martin mowed down more GINNs when his beam Gatling guns ran out of power. He discarded them, drawing his beam sabers. The Massacre landed on the _Taurus_'s main cannon, crushing it. The _Taurus_'s bridge crew watched in horror as the Massacre turned towards the bridge. He swung his sabers down, slicing through the bridge tower. Martin laughed as he continued his assault, his sabers tearing into the ship's hull.

"Admiral! The _Taurus_ is dead!"

"Admiral! We must fall back!" Brunt shouted.

"No. Not until the others have retreated safely." Thule said. "We may have lost Victoria, but I will not leave until every soldier that can escape, has escaped!"

Suddenly, the Calamity jumped off the Raider, landing on the hull of the _Rook_. Orga aimed his energy bazooka at the bridge of the _Rook_. Brunt let out a scream and tried to run. But it was pointless. Thule knew that. They were already dead. The Calamity fired. "LONG LIVE ZAFT!" Thule defiantly shouted as the light reached them.

* * *

_A Few Hours Later_

Though Thule's dying efforts saved many ZAFT soldiers, many more of the soldiers had been unable to escape. And the Alliance soldiers were more than willing to emulate the actions of many ZAFT soldiers during the Panama attack.

Alliance personal were already cleaning up the base and preparing for its first launch under the Earth Alliance's control. A jeep passed by the crew rushing to complete their work on time. Inside the jeep were Azrael and Captain Sutherland. Azrael was pleased, very pleased. The Biological CPUs had finally proven their worth. And not only that, the Alliance had finally broken ZAFT's mobile suit supremacy. Everything was finally starting to slide into place.

"Well, I have to say that was quite an impressive victory, Captain Sutherland." Azrael said, complementing the commander of the attack on Victoria.

"It was the Strike Daggers and those four new machines of yours that won us this victory." Sutherland replied.

"Yes. Though I was quite worried that they weren't up to par after what happened to ORB."

"Indeed. I think the only reasons we had any difficulties at ORB was because of those unexpected machines you told me about."

Azrael nodded. "Considering we attacked them with the Calamity, the Forbidden, the Massacre, and the Riader, I never expected to have that much difficulty. ORB is truly a wicked nation. I wonder what they could have been thinking."

"Although two of those machines, not counting that Heero Yuy's machine, were unlike _anything_ we had ever seen. They seemed to emit jamming particles of some kind. That really messed up our sensors during the fight for ORB. Luckily we were able to fight by sight alone, so that helped to hide the fact we were disabled."

Azrael nodded again. That one fact was what disturbed him greatly. Even now, the Alliance had no idea what those particles were. If anyone, the PLANTs, or even, _hell forbid_, **_NASA_**, figured out how to harness those particles, then the Earth Forces would be defeated, and not just in words either…

"They probably thought that if they could played their cards right, they'd be sitting pretty. What a disgusting nation." Sutherland said. "I understand that a lot of their technology came from the PLANTs. Actually, now that I've had some time to think about it, it's possible that those two machines were made by ZAFT."

Azrael watched as the Raider, the Calamity, the Massacre and the Forbidden were loaded on the cargo ship that would soon take them to the Ptolemaeus Crater Base on the Moon. "In either case, we'll need to do something about them. Perhaps even acquire one of them." he said as the jeep came to a stop.

"So that's why you're going into space." Sutherland commented.

Azrael stepped out of the vehicle. "Yes. After seeing them in action, I can't help but wonder. Could those four machines be nuclear powered?"

"You can't be serious." a stunned Sutherland said.

"I don't have any proof at the moment, but that much power isn't possible with current battery technology."

The two walked through the Mass Driver control building, heading for their shuttle. "Well, the Coordinators did develop the N-Jammers in first place." Sutherland said, thinking over the idea. "So it is possible that they could have developed a way to cancel out their effects. But if that were true, there could be serious consequences for us."

"Do you doubt me, the Director of the Atlantic National Defense Conglomerate?" Azrael asked as they reached the shuttle boarding ramp.

"No. Of course not." Sutherland quickly replied.

"Remember, we are the weaker creature here." Azrael explained. "In order to ensure our safety, we must keep the beast with fangs caged or on a lease."

"Yes. We can't let them run wild in space, even if we were the ones who created them in the first place."

"I'll go and take care of them." Azrael said as they boarded the ship. "Permanently."

* * *

_Archangel_

Liz floated over to Nisha, who was resting in the pilot's lounge of the ship. "Hey."

"Hey."

She looked unsure of what to say, as her face was slightly hot. "So…um…your cousin returned?"

"Yeah, he did." Nisha replied. "And from what he told me, ZAFT was the reason he defected, well, one of the reasons anyway."

"Really?"

Nisha just looked at her, his hands still behind his head. "It's not that simple Liz. He did not defect just like that. Aki' actually had to think about it."

"I know it's not that easy. We defected from the Earth Alliance, remember?"

"Yeah, but that was different. Aki' had to choose between revenge for his sister, fighting for the Coordinator 'homeland', and getting justice for his family. It was not easy."

Liz just looked down again. "It's just that, well…he is a former ZAFT pilot. How can NAZAFT trust that he will not try to kill the inhabitants of the colony New Juneau?"

Nisha sat up. "Liz, NAZAFT is considered one of the best military groups to join, and not just anyone can join it. They have to either be U.S. citizens; genetic type does not matter; they have to go through an academy based in the colony, or they have to be chosen by the NAZAFT leader to be a member. The first two are the real reasons why many are able to join, and the last one, while it does occur, it is very rare, and it is considered an honor to join, mainly if the person is from ZAFT. American citizens will not attack the colony, and the cadets in the academy learn what it means to be a member of NAZAFT. ZAFT pilots, well, they need to be from the U.S. by birth, or be of excellent character, which rarely happens. Aki' is a U.S. citizen by birth. That is why he was allowed to join NAZAFT."

Liz nodded in understanding at the explanation. "I see now. So that's it."

"Yeah. That's it."

* * *

_New Juneau_

"So, you wish to defect from ZAFT?" the NAZAFT commander asked. The trio of ZAFT officers before her all nodded.

"Yes, we do." Tao replied, although she knew that the chances of her other two crew members getting in were slim. Heidi was too aggressive, and Commander Wolfe was not from NASA by birth.

The NAZAFT commander put her head on her hands, regarding the three with a calculating stare. "You three are of the 7th Fleet, am I right?"

"Yes ma'am." Commander Wolfe replied.

Calm eyes looked over the three before her. Two of them were citizens of NASA, one by birth, one by naturalization. Another was a citizen of the PLANTs, so that meant that she would have to renounce her PLANT citizenship and become a U.S. citizen within two years if she was to avoid being tried as a war criminal.

"Two of you are already American citizens right?" Tao and Heidi nodded at the question.

"Then you have nothing to fear in terms of being tried and convicted as war criminals." The NAZAFT commander then faced Commander Wolfe. "As for you, you will have to renounce your PLANT citizenship and become a U.S. citizen within two years in order for you to be protected from the same fate. Are you sure you want to do that?"

Commander Wolfe looked unsure, but she still nodded her head in response.

"Then it is settled. You all are now NAZAFT officers."

"Tao White, as of right now, you are given the rank of Commander. You will be in charge of the newly formed squadron as soon as it is put into operation."

"Heidi Matthews, you are now a Colonel in NAZAFT. You will be assigned to Tao's unit once it is activated."

"Araiya Wolfe, you are given the rank of Lieutenant, so you will be in charge of your own ship which will be a part of Tao's unit once it is activated."

"Is that understood?"

Every one of the former ZAFT pilots before the NAZAFT commander saluted, using the United States military salute.

"Welcome back."

* * *

Kira and Cagalli find out they are twins, just as ZAFT loses control of Panama's Mass Driver. At the same time, NASA gains new allies in the form of the 7th Fleet. But what awaits now? Read on to find out! :3 Flames, AKA, hate filled/spamming reviews, **_will_** be deleted **_AND/OR_** reported depending on if they are signed or not. Anyway, read and review! ^^


	29. Phase 28: Lacus Strikes

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. Nor do I own Martin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: You will like what the Blue Cosmos/LOGOs members suffer in the second arc. ;)**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :)**

**A0930: Actually, there is a twist regarding the Mendel reveals~! ;3 As for the joke, I did it because it was just too good to pass up. XD And don't worry, everything will become clear as you continue to read. :3**

**Mko:** PLEASE** use a **consistent** guest name! Geez... But I am glad you still like it. But I want to know **_WHAT_** you love about it, not just that you like it, even though I like hearing that as well.**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those with an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you are a guest without an account, **PLEASE** put a **CONSISTENT** guest name. Thanks!**

* * *

Phase Twenty-Eight: Lacus Strikes

_The Archangel's Hanger_

Athrun finished suiting up as his shuttle was being prepped for launch. It was small, single seat craft. With it, he would reach the PLANTs in a couple hours. Kira, Chris, Saul, Nicol, Nisha, Heero, Aki', Liz, and Dearka were there to see him off. "If anything happens to me, I want one of you guys to pilot the Justice." he said.

"No way. You're the only one for that mobile suit." Dearka replied.

"Yeah. I don't want use any other machine besides my Surge." Saul added.

Athrun turned to Nicol, who shook his head. "Sorry. But the Justice just isn't for me."

Looking at Aki', the NAZAFT pilot shook his head. "No. If I do, then I will be considered a ZAFT pilot, and that would mean capture and execution."

Heero just glared at Athrun. "If you think I am going to switch from Wing Zero, I will kill you."

Nisha just shook his head. "Sorry, but I can't pilot such a machine. You might, but I won't."

Liz just shrugged. "Sorry. But I've got the Dynames, which is more of my thing anyway."

Finally, Athrun turned to Chris. "No. I'm not piloting a nuclear powered mobile suit." he said. "You and Kira can pilot those things, but I'm never gonna pilot one of those machines or any like it. Besides, I've got the Exia, which is not nuclear powered."

"Wait a minute!" someone called out.

Cagalli appeared, virtually tackling Athrun. "Why are you doing this? Why are you going back to the PLANTs?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you this earlier." Athrun answered.

"Sorry doesn't cut! What will happen if you don't return without that?" she shouted, pointing to the Justice.

"I'm leaving the Justice here. It's better this way." He explained. "Should worst comes to worst, Kira will take care of it."

"That isn't what I'm talking about!"

Athrun sighed. "I know, but I still have to do this."

Kira then came over and put his hand on her shoulder. "Cagalli, you know why he has to go."

Defeated, she nodded and stepped back.

A short while later, the shuttle took off and sped away. A minute after, the Freedom and Wing Zero followed as escort. Whenever everything was done, the plan was to rendezvous with Athrun and all three would return to the _Archangel_. All hands on board both ships nervously watched as the machines disappeared out of sight.

* * *

_Hong Fa Wu's Office_

_Aprilius One_

Hong Fa Wu sat inside his office and watched footage of the Earth Alliance's battle with ORB. Le Creuset had managed to record a portion of the battle as he returned to Carpentaria before returning to space.

The loss of Victoria had been a heavy blow. Though Thule had managed to save a portion of their forces stationed there, the loss of the Mass Driver to the Earth Forces was grave turn of events. Just when they had turned things in their favor again, those damn Naturals attacked Victoria. And with those accursed new mobile suits of theirs, the PLANTs were once again in danger.

As he continued watching, Wu spoke with the Captain of their new warship, the _Eternal_. "Yes, that's right." He said. "Le Creuset returned less than an hour ago and had this information with him. I don't how or why the Freedom ended up at ORB. Athrun may know, but the little fool hasn't reported in yet."

_"You did say that his mission was top secret."_ the man replied. _"Needless communications is but one way information can be picked and leaked."_

Wu shuddered. Leaked information had become the cause of many of his recent headaches. "The overconfident Naturals have been gathering at the moon. We need to crush them this time, completely." he said, changing the direction of the conversation.

_"I understand. I shall give every effort to repay Your Excellency for giving me another chance at life."_

* * *

_Aboard the Vesalius_

_Armory One_

"Well Miss, I think I found the reason you've been getting sick in mornings." the doctor said. "I believe congratulations are in order."

Flay's eyes widened in surprise. "You don't mean..."

"Yes. You're going to be a mother."

Flay felt an overwhelming tide of emotions as her subconsciously reached for her abdomen. She was going to have a baby. She felt joy. Worry. Fear even. But mostly joy.

But then dread entered her mind. Had she found out a few weeks ago, she would have known instantly that Chris was the father. But after Panama…After Panama, she was Le Creuset's assistant by day and at night... She barely managed to suppress a shudder. She had heard some of rumors going around about her. But they were much farther than she had imagined. She was not his lover, nor had he made her his lover.

While she was overjoyed at the thought of having Chris's child, the realization struck home. She was having _Chris's_ child! Joy spread through her, but she also knew that she was still in danger. For now, all that mattered was ensuring the safety of her unborn child and trying to find a way back to _Archangel_.

* * *

_The Vesalius's Hanger_

Yzak wondered through the hanger as the crews worked on the new mobile suits that had been loaded onto the _Vesalius_. He walked pass his Duel and Zane's new mobile suit. Next to them was a second new mobile suit, identical to Zane's save that it was currently in the process of being painted purple, and a CGUE DEEP Arms. Shiho Hahnenfuss's CGUE DEEP Arms. Yzak was familiar with Shiho and had met her a few times. She was a skilled pilot.

Yzak stopped at the third new mobile suit. It was painted in the colors of a CGUE and a technician was working on it. "Is this the new model GuAIZ?" he asked.

"Yes, it's a new mass production type from MMI." the technician replied. "The assembly lines are all retooling for this guy. Once we get them rolling out, we'll stamp the Naturals out of space in no time."

Yzak doubted that. The new Earth Forces machines, while inferior to his Duel, were more powerful than the rest of ZAFT's arsenal. And the Earth Forces could field a lot of those mobile suits. But then again, the GuAIZs had no doubt been made with the technology gained from the mobile suits from Heliopolis. If NASA was put into the picture as well though, then things changed, as they had even more advanced tech than the PLANTs. He took another look at the machine and shrugged before walking off.

* * *

_Outside Jachin Due_

_An Hour Later_

Athrun's shuttle reached the defensive perimeter surrounding the space fortress of Jachin Due. He, Heero, and Kira had already parted ways and Kira now waited at the rendezvous point with Heero. A group of GINNs moved in to intercept his craft. He switched to a ZAFT communication channel. "This is operative Athrun Zala of the National Defense Committee." He said. "My identification number is 285002. Jachin Due Defense Forces, please respond."

The squad of GINNs slowed but didn't stop. They quickly surrounded the shuttle, ready to destroy it if he did anything remotely suspicious.

_'So far so good.' _Athrun thought. _'I hope I haven't made a big mistake in coming here.'_

* * *

_Patrick Zala's Office_

Patrick Zala looked over the data of what he planned to be Wu's ultimate weapon in the war against the Naturals, the appropriately named GENESIS. For it would be the genesis of the Age of the Coordinator according to Hong Fa Wu. It was already in the final phase of its construction and would be operational shortly thereafter. That bothered him greatly. His intercom buzzed and he pressed the receiver. "Yes, what is it?"

_"Operative Athrun Zala has arrived at Jachin Due, sir. He was piloting an Earth Forces shuttle."_

This was a shock for Patrick. At very least, Athrun should be in the Justice. Not an Earth Forces shuttle. Something had happened. Something he knew Wu wasn't going to like.

"Given the circumstances, he's being detained at this moment." the officer added.

"Bring him here at once." Patrick ordered before turning off the intercom. He had many questions for Athrun, and not the ones Wu wanted him to think or even ask.

A short while later Athrun was escorted into his father's office, flanked by two guards. Once they arrived, the guards saluted the Defense Chairman.

Patrick said nothing at first. He sighed and stood up. "Guards, leave us."

Once the guards left, Patrick looked at his son and continued. "What's happened? Where are the Justice and the Freedom?"

"I know where they are both are. They are intact and safe." Athrun answered. "But I need to ask you something father. What direction are you and Supreme Chairman Wu planning to take this war?"

"What?" Patrick demanded. "What sort of absurd question is that? What about your mission? That's what you need to report on!"

"The reason I've returned is because I needed to speak with you directly." Athrun said. "I'm talking about what happened at Alaska, Panama, and Victoria. You attack because you're attacked and then you're attacked again because you attacked. All the while, war and suffering continues. How much longer will this drag on? How many more will have to die?"

"Where did you get such ideas?" Patrick asked. "If you got them because of your experiences, then that's what I had hoped would happen. If it was Clyne, then I am-"

He was cut off as the door slid open to reveal Chairman Wu. "Ah. I see that your son has returned to us. So did he succeed in his mission?"

Athrun stared as his father stood up, a hard look in his eyes. "Look Wu, I only am going along with this because of my son's safety! I did not want to wipe out all Naturals!"

Shock filled Athrun as his father said those words. Wu then turned on Patrick and smacked him across the face. The other man fell to the ground. "Look! What happened during the Bloody Valentine needs to be avenged! MY WIFE WAS KILLED AT JUNIUS SEVEN!"

"But how far are you willing to go?" Patrick asked. "I know how you feel, because my wife died there as well, but at least I'm not willing to kill every person on Earth!"

"Once every last Natural is dead, that is when this war comes to an end."

Athrun was stunned to say the least. "What did you say? Do you really mean that you plan on killing all the Naturals?"

"Of course!" Hong Fa Wu yelled as he grabbed Athrun by the collar. "That's been our goal from the start! Now where are the Justice and the Freedom?!"

"Unhand my son!" Patrick yelled as he stood up again from his spot on the ground.

"Chairman, do you really mean what you just said about killing all the Naturals?"

"That's the whole point of this war! That's why we're fighting this war! Have you forgotten that?" Hong Fa Wu shouted, throwing him to the ground.

The next moment, Chairman Wu pulled out his sidearm and aimed at Athrun. "You're pathetic! Stop giving me that garbage and answer me! Where are the Freedom and the Justice?"

Athrun glared at him but didn't answer. "If you refuse to answer, I'll have you arrested as a traitor!"

But Athrun still didn't answer. His father's comrade reached for his intercom and called in a group of military police. They surrounded him and aimed their rifles at him and his father. This whole thing had been a big mistake. He never should have come back. Chairman Wu was locked into his path. Nothing he could say would change that. Suddenly, Lord Uzumi's words echoed through his mind.

"_The Earth Forces' present actions are being guided by the leader of Blue Cosmos, Muruta Azrael. To make matters worse, the PLANTs are led by someone who believes Coordinators are a new species, for Hong Fa Wu rules them now. The way things are developing, the world will soon be trapped between two forces who refuse to accept each other's' existence."_

As much as he hated to admit it, Chairman Wu was one of people driving this war on. He got to his feet. What he did next surprised everyone, himself included. Athrun lunged at the chairman. A shot rang out. Athrun fell to the ground, the bullet having grazed his right shoulder.

"Don't kill him. There is still information we need from him." Wu ordered. "Arrest him and use whatever techniques necessary to pry information on the Freedom and the Justice out of him. I'm very disappointed, Athrun. As for your father, I will see to him personally later on."

The soldiers pulled Athrun up and slapped a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. Another group did the same with his father. "As am I…_Chairman_." He spat.

* * *

The guards dragged Athrun outside the government building, where a van was waiting. But he wasn't about to let them lock him up. He kicked one of the guards and tackled the other before running off. Patrick Zala also kicked a guard to the ground before turning to face another. To Athrun's surprise, one of guards followed, firing at the other soldiers and throwing flash-bangs. The pair rounded a corner of the building. "Turn your back to me so I can shoot the handcuffs." the soldier ordered.

Athrun complied and his handcuffs were removed. "You're being too reckless." the soldier said, handing him a pistol. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? You even got one of my guys."

"Sorry about that. But who are you?" Athrun asked.

"I'm with what they're calling the Clyne Faction, as is your father. He was basically a mole for us." the soldier replied. "And you need to be more careful. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"Sorry."

At that moment, the second soldier he had hit appeared, firing his rifle. "Come on DeCosta! We need to get out of here!"

DeCosta nodded and turned to Athrun. "Come on!"

The three ran out, Athrun's father right behind them.

* * *

_New Juneau_

Tao and her crew looked themselves over as they finished up putting on their new uniforms. Tao's was black like a ZAFT black coat's, but instead of the purple areas, the lower sleeves were blue just like the shoulder area. The line was blue as well. She had the white belt and white boots like Akira had, but she had a commander's hat that had on it the United States armed forces insignia.

Heidi wore the blue coat uniform, and it was just like Akira's, complete with male pants too.

Commander Wolfe wore the same black outfit as Tao, but instead of the same parts being blue, said parts were red.

Josh Ajaxy had on the same outfit as Heidi, marking him as a pilot of NAZAFT as well.

"Now you all are NAZAFT officers." The commander of NAZAFT replied as the four looked at her. "From here on out, you will be fighting not for ZAFT or their superior being ideology, but your own beliefs."

Tao knew what she meant. "You also mean fighting for the ideals of the United States, that _ALL_ people are created equal, whether they are Naturals _or_ Coordinators."

Her superior officer nodded. "That is correct. No one race is better than others. And Wu fails to see that. Now, I believe that the 11th Fleet will be needing some help. You had best get out there and help out the Clyne Faction."

The four saluted with the United States military salute. "Yes, ma'am!"

* * *

_The Eternal_

_Inside a ZAFT Hanger_

Commander Andrew Waltfeld glanced at his pocketwatch and smiled. DeCosta should have recovered the kid and Zala by now and be heading to meet up with them. Now it was time for phase two of their plan. Andy picked up the phone in his chair's arm, switching to the ship's intercom. "This is Commander Waltfeld. The ship is now entering its final preparations. I repeat…The ship is entering its _final preparations_."

All across the ship, the Clyne supporters amongst the ship's crew quickly gathered up those that weren't and kicked them out as others rushed to bring the _Eternal_'s systems online.

Moments later, Lacus Clyne entered the bridge. "Sorry I'm late." she said as she sat in the command chair.

"No worries. As long as you're safe." Andy replied. "Shall we be heading out now?"

Lacus nodded. "Yes."

"Loading departure plan C, forced exit subroutine one nine two zero online."

"Adding logic array, security is disengaged. All systems go."

Suddenly, the frantic calls dockmaster filled the bridge. "Commander Waltfeld! What's going on? You don't have clearance to launch!"

"Sir. They changed the codes to the main gate."

"Those people are so clever." Waltfeld said mockingly. "They should've left it as it was."

He turned to Lacus. "Our exit is gonna be a bit rougher now. So brace yourself."

"We have no other choice, since we must go." Lacus replied.

"Prepare to fire the main cannon! Target the main gate!" Andy ordered. "Fire immediately after take-off!"

"_Eternal_, please launch." Lacus said.

The _Eternal_'s engines fired up, propelling the ship forward. Moments later, the _Eternal_'s main cannon fired, destroying the gate and providing them with a way out.

"Where's DeCosta?"

At that very moment, a four-man shuttle raced through hanger, heading for the _Eternal_. _"Commander we're here."_ Martin said as he pulled the shuttle alongside the _Eternal_.

"DeCosta, move to the rear hatch." Andy ordered. "Once they're on board, get the ship up to maximum speed!"

Once the shuttle safely landed on board, the _Eternal_ reached its maximum speed, outrunning all of their pursers. But there was one last hurdle before they could consider their escape successful. Jachin Due and its defense forces which would be waiting for them.

* * *

_7th Fleet_

_Near Jachin Due_

The 7th Fleet was now around Jachin Due, disguised as ZAFT vessels.

"This is not going to be easy." Tao said as she looked over the amount of ZAFT forces. "We may be in over our heads."

Josh just shrugged. "Hey, if we are, we are. There's nothing that we can actually do about it except follow orders."

"Hey! Following orders nearly got us disbanded more than once!" Tao shot back. Her now-scarred right eye was visible. The side of her head near her eye was scar tissue, and part of her hair that was burned off now fell over that eye, hiding the damage from a distance.

Commander Wolfe just sighed. "He's right, you know. That incident with Panama nearly got us branded as traitors."

Tao just glared back at her. "Hey, you didn't have to follow the orders, you know!"

"True, but why did you give those orders anyway?"

"Killing countless people, even if they are of the enemy, is wrong! And they were defenseless no less! How can ZAFT do such a low-brow thing, when they are supposed to be the superior group of humans?!" Tao snarled.

Commander Wolfe was shocked as her eyes widened in surprise. "But ZAFT should have known about the results of JOSH-A being prevented! That would have stopped the whole thing from even occurring! And yet did they tell the soldiers out in the field?! NO! The Supreme Council outright lied and said that JOSH-A had killed over seventy percent of their men and women in uniform!" Tao snapped.

"Yes, but-"

"NO! ZAFT could care less about harming Naturals who are only fighting to defend their homes! I was just doing what I knew should be done!" Tao growled.

"Then why did you do it?!" Commander Wolfe snarled back, her voice rising.

"Because I am an American citizen first and foremost!" Tao shouted back. "I could care less about ZAFT and its policies of genetic superiority! My _HOME_ was what drove me to make those orders! My _NATION_ where I was _BORN_, the _UNITED STATES_! _NOT_ the PLANTs!"

Commander Wolfe stared, unable to find anything to say.

"Wow…" Josh whispered.

"My loyalties lie with the United States and NASA, not the Coordinator 'homeland'." Tao murmured as she looked down. "If you don't like it, then you can return to ZAFT and have me branded as a traitor if you want."

"…"

"No."

Tao looked up, stunned. "What?"

"You heard me." Commander Wolfe said as she faced her superior. "I won't do that."

"Yeah, we're with you. NASA is my home as well, and my loyalties to them are much more so than even the PLANTs expect." Josh replied.

"ZAFT can go to hell for all I care. Anyone who wants to kill Naturals for the fun of it needs to suffer the way those soldiers did." Heidi replied, also looking at the new NAZAFT commander.

Tears shimmered in her eyes as Tao looked over her crew. "Thanks…" The message center then bleeped and Aisha, in her new white coat uniform, brought it up.

"The _Eternal_ is sending out a message. I'm putting it through."

_"Hello. My name is Lacus Clyne. Although I have become enemies with Chairman Wu because we hope for different futures, I do not intend to fight against you. Please let our ship go. And I also ask each one of you to think about what we really should be fighting against."_

Tao looked at her crew, knowing what they had to do.

"Prep the mobile suits for launch! We are going to defend the _Eternal_!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

* * *

_The Odin_

_Near Jachin Due_

"Commander, orders from HQ." the comm officer said. "The _Eternal_ has been stolen from Armory One. Chairman Wu is ordering that all available ZAFT forces to intercept and destroy the _Eternal_."

Diana Kessel nodded. "Bring the ship to Level One Battlestations! Get the GuAIZs ready for launch! Bring the fleet into position to flank the as the Jachin Due defense forces move into intercept!"

"Commander! The _Eternal_ is sending out a message to all ZAFT forces!"

"Let's hear it."

_"Hello. My name is Lacus Clyne. Although I have become enemies with Chairman Wu because we hope for different futures, I do not intend to fight against you. Please let our ship go. And I also ask each one of you to think about what we really should be fighting against."_

"You're orders sir?" a bridge officer asked.

This was wrong. What they were doing was wrong. The ZAFT she had once known was slipping away more and more each day. It had to stop. "Prep my mobile suit for launch." Diana ordered. "I will not follow Wu's orders any longer. But I will not force the rest of you into betraying ZAFT. All I ask is that you give me a head start."

No one on the bridge moved.

"No ma'am." Lucius replied. "I speak for everyone when I say we'll not follow your order."

"Then arrest me." she said. "I will not fire on that ship or follow that man's orders."

"We're not going to arrest you either."

"But-"

"Ma'am, again I speak for everyone when I say, to hell with our orders and to hell with Hong Fa Wu."

For the briefest of moments, her normally cold demeanor dropped as a slight smile spread across her lips. "Thank you." she whispered under her breath.

Then the smile dropped. "What are you waiting for then? Bring the Fleet closer to the _Eternal_! Scramble all mobile suits! We're protecting the _Eternal_!" she ordered. "I don't want a single mobile suit to get within striking distance of that ship! And do not fire until I give signal! Is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" came the chorus of replies as the bridge crushed rushed to carry out her orders.

"Will you still be going out as well, ma'am?"

"Of course. You have the bridge Lee."

Minutes later, all of the mobile suits of the 11th Fleet were launched and joined by the 7th Fleet machines as well, heading for the _Eternal_. The ZAFT forces heading for the _Eternal_ let out a cheer. "Those traitors are done for now!" one GINN pilot shouted.

_"Yeah! There's no way they can escape the 11th Fleet!"_ another said.

_"The 7th is there as well! There is no way that they can escape _both_ fleets for long!"_ a third GINN pilot added.

"Damn. The 11th Fleet and 7th Fleet." Andy said. "This isn't going to be easy."

"We're being hailing by the 11th Fleet and the 7th." DeCosta said.

"Put it through. Let's hope that Miss Kessel and Miss White will listen."

The cockpits of Diana's GuAIZ and Tao's Diver appeared on the main screen.

"Eternal. _This is Commander Diana Kessel of the 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet_." Diana said. _"We have been ordered to destroy you. However, we can no longer willing follow Hong Fa Wu's orders. The entire 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet is at your disposal, Miss Clyne, Commander Waltfeld."_

"Eternal_, this is Commander Tao White of the 7th Independent Mobile Fleet."_ Tao said. _"Now it might seem like we are still with ZAFT, but we have in fact defected to the side of NAZAFT. In other words, we are now with the United States Armed Forces. We are no longer willing to follow Hong Fa Wu or the path ZAFT is headed down. Therefore, we are placing ourselves at your disposal."_

The rest of the ZAFT forces and most of the _Eternal_'s crew were stunned by this announcement. Both Andy and Lacus smiled. "It looks like we may just make it after all." Andy said as the colored GuAIZs and GINNs formed a defensive ring around the _Eternal_.

"ZAFT forces, withdraw now and you will escape with your lives." Diana said to all the advancing ZAFT mobile suits. "If not, we will slaughter you all."

_"ZAFT forces, you are to withdraw at once, or we _will_ destroy you!"_ Tao snarled as she aimed one of her machines weapons at the ZAFT forces.

The ZAFT forces were in a state of panic and disarray. ZAFT's own propaganda worked against them in this case. They made the 11th Fleet and 7th Fleet out to be dreaded, unbeatable fighting forces within their military. Added to this were the recent events at Panama, where the 11th Fleet and 7th Fleet had attacked their fellow soldiers in the defense of the Naturals, left no doubt in their minds that they weren't bluffing. As a result of this, many ZAFT soldiers started fleeing the battlefield in fear, rather than face the unbeatable 11th Fleet and Maverick 7th Fleet in battle. But many more stayed, forcing the 11th Fleet and 7th Fleet to battle their, now former, comrades in arms.

"Damn you, Hong Fa Wu, for forcing us to do this." Diana said. "All forces, engage the ZAFT forces. Try to avoid the cockpit if you can. But do not let them near the _Eternal_!"

"Hong Fa Wu, you bastard! You will pay for your actions!" Tao snarled. "All units! Engage the ZAFT forces! Do not hesitate to kill if you can! Do not let them near the _Eternal_! And let them feel the fury of NASA!"

The 11th Fleet snapped into action, attacking the ZAFT forces like men and women possessed. The _Odin_ and its sister ships fired their cannons as did the _Eternal_. The 7th also joined in, firing as well. Many GINNs lost heads and limbs to the GuAIZs and GINNs of the 11th Fleet and 7th Fleets. Sadly, many more were destroyed. But even then, there were too many mobile suits for the 11th Fleet and the 7th Fleet to hold back. GINNs armed with missile launchers flew past the GuAIZs and GINNs, heading for the _Eternal_. "Stop them!" Diana shouted as she blew a GINN's head off.

But it was too late. A barrage of missiles was fired. All of them were heading for the _Eternal_. The _Eternal_ fired its anti-missile countermeasures, but there were too many for them to stop. And a number of the missiles continued for the vessel.

At that moment, perfectly aimed beams tore through the missile, destroying every missile. Everyone turned to the source of the beams.

It was the Freedom.

Of course, there were still others heading towards the _Eternal_. Even the Freedom was unable to block and destroy those. The ship seemed to be doomed once again.

Then, a massive golden beam cut across the path of the missiles. The heat forced the missiles to explode against the beam, rendering the assault useless. Every machine and pilot faced the source, Wing Zero.

With the missiles destroyed, Kira turned his attention to the ZAFT forces. He fired. His perfectly aimed shots tore through the weapons, limbs and heads of ZAFT mobile suits. Leaving only the mobile suits of the 11th Fleet and 7th Fleet untouched. "Whoa...That was amazing..." Ajay said as he surveyed the area.

_"Indeed."_ Lucius agreed. _"I've never seen such power."_

_"Wing Zero…"_ Heidi murmured.

_"What a machine."_ Josh agreed.

_"Only that machine could pull off that move."_ Tao replied with a smirk.

_"Cut the chatter."_ Diana ordered. _"The _Eternal_ is safe. Everyone, return to the ships."_

The GuAIZs all returned to the _Odin_ and its sister ships. The GINNs and Diver returned to their ships as well. The Freedom and Wing Zero pulled alongside the _Eternal_ as the Nazca-class warships and Laurasia-class warships tailed the pink vessel.

Kira opened a comm channel to the _Eternal_. _"Kira Yamato here."_ he said as his face appeared on the _Eternal_'s main screen.

Lacus smiled. "Kira."

Heero also opened a channel to the pink ship, revealing himself as well. _"Heero Yuy in Wing Zero."_

"Hey there youngsters. You saved us." Andy said with a grin of his own.

The sight of a former adversary, who they had thought was dead, was beyond a little stunning. _"Mr. Waltfeld?"_

* * *

_Washington D.C._

President Hilson looked on as the battle for the _Eternal_ was aired live from the external cameras of New Juneau. "So, it would appear that the 11th Fleet has defected as well. Two mighty fleets, both of ZAFT, defecting to join the causes they know are right. Wu must be pissed." She said with a smirk.

Her guard looked back at her, his face showing no emotion. "One of them joined NAZAFT though, and that will be an even bigger blow, considering that their records from ZAFT have been transferred over. That means that the 7th Fleet will be unable to be tried and executed as traitors."

"Exactly. I told Commander Willis to let them join should they reach New Juneau to do so." The president replied, that grin still on her face.

Agent Williams just nodded. "I see."

The door slid open to reveal the Vice-President of the nation. "I see you're watching the news feed?" Vice-President Young asked.

"You know it. Both of ZAFT's best fleets have defected and the 7th joined up with NAZAFT." The president replied.

Young could not help but smirk at the news. "Why am I not surprised? Given their reputations, it is only natural that ZAFT would back off from them, especially the 7th Fleet."

President Hilson then looked back at the man beside her and her Vice-President. "Now, I just want some time to myself please. I need to rest."

Both men nodded and left the room, the President herself turning off the T.V. screen. She then walked up to the second floor, where no one but herself was allowed. President Hilson sat down on the couch, pulling out a small photo of herself and her family.

"Dad, Mom, if only you could see me now…" she murmured as she flipped over the photo, revealing small writings on the back. The words _'Allen Family, C.E. 44'_ were written on there in black ink, prompting tears to flow forth from her eyes.

It was _her_ family in that photo, not someone else's. She reflected on the circumstances that forced her to disappear from her previous life, a life she wished she had never had to give up, even if it was only for a little while.

Her family, the ones she had loved so much, had been killed by Blue Cosmos while she had been sleeping. The last thing she recalled was waking up the hospital due to injuries that could have killed her.

She snapped back to reality as she pocketed the photo. _'I can't dwell on the past now, not when there is too much to actually do.'_ She reminded herself.

With that said, President Hilson got up and left the room as well. The small photo that sat in her pocket though, was a constant reminder of why she was president and no one else.

* * *

_That night_

_A small girl ran around the yard, her father watching her with pride. The girl ran towards her father and her mother, who was standing next to her father. Both had big smiles on their faces, just like the small girl._

_Then the scene shattered to reveal a chaotic household, a crying young boy who was in a state that did not indicate good care. There were small cuts and bruises on his body as well, and he was skinny as possible while still being alive._

_The scene shifted again, revealing the happy household from before, the young boy staring in fear at the girl's father, who was worried about his mental health after he had been retrieved by the local authorities from his previous home. The young girl stared at the boy before a big grin came to her face. The boy shrank back in fear, but the girl grabbed him and pulled him inside the house, revealing nothing that could be used to hurt him._

_The young boy, several years later, now a young man, was thriving and the young girl, now in college, was more than happy to see him as a happy person instead of the fearful young boy he had once been._

* * *

_"Mackenzie Samantha Allen, age 19, died of burns to 40% of her body. Her family line, the Allen Political Dynasty, has now come to an end, with the death of its last remaining member. Officers have ruled the incident a homicide, citing the evidence of arson found at the site of the fire and injuries the victims obtained prior to the fire. Four Blue Cosmos members have been arrested and charged with first-degree murder of a political figure, and murder of a Senator of the United States Congress."_

_"Victims of the fire include, Senator Mark Allen; his wife, Maria Allen; their adopted 25-year old son, Andrew Henry Allen-Guss; and their 19 year-old daughter, Mackenzie Samantha Allen."_

_"Senator Allen; died of smoke inhalation and carbon-monoxide poisoning. Maria Allen; died of third degree burns over 70% of her body. Andrew Henry Allen-Guss; died of strangulation and stab wounds to the neck, a single bullet shot to the center of the head. Mackenzie Samantha Allen; survival pending, injuries include second degree burns to 40% of her body, a gunshot wound to the shoulder, a stab wound to her side, a broken arm, sprained leg."_

_"Will she survive?"_

_"It is highly possible, but given what she went through, I highly doubt it."_

_The voices faded to reveal flames leaping about, the young college student outside her house as the fire raged. The man before her raised his gun, only for the barrel to explode._

* * *

President Hilson's eyes snapped open as she sat up in a flash. Her body was covered in sweat as her heart raced at a mile a minute. She looked around frantically before she realized that she was just in the White House. Her breathing slowed, but just a little as she looked down at her hands. They were shaking. Sighing, she placed her head in her hands before getting up.

Standing before the mirror in the room, she looked herself over. A single round scar was on her right shoulder; her arms had pale marks that were evidence of burns she had suffered in the past. Her legs held the same thing. On her left side was a thin mark that was only made by a knife blade. And on her face was a small line that was from a burn as well.

The president sighed again before slipping back into the bed. Why did she continue to have those same dreams? Hadn't that Blue Cosmos done enough to ruin her life as it was? Deep down though, she knew that it was because she was suffering from PTSD, something she had been found to have after the fire.

She looked back at the small photo, now on her desk in the room. How she wished for her family to be with her again, even all those years later. Closing her eyes, the president cried herself to sleep, a routine that happened every night she had those flashbacks…

* * *

_Pentagon_

John Keller looked over the reports that had recently been received, as he always did. "So, we are getting closer to our ultimate goal of having functional missiles once again…" he noted as the data and an image of an N-Jammer part came up. The small part was highlighted, revealing its reason for being sent in.

"The N-Jammer's core…" Keller mused as he looked it over. On another screen, there was an image of a device that had recently been tested. The results had been as desired. "The test was a success…?" A smile spread across his face at the news. But there was still a ways to go until it could be put into use.

* * *

_Next Day_

An Earth Alliance officer exited the White House, the standard EA uniform crisp and clean. Brown eyes were hidden by dark brown hair slightly, but it did not matter. A driver was waiting to take the soldier to the airport, where she would leave from to meet up with the newest ship that the EA had.

"I hope you know what you are doing." The driver said as he looked back. "This is not what someone of your position is supposed to do."

The soldier just grunted. "As if I care. I will do what it takes to protect the country that I love." She replied. "That's just the nature of war."

"Still, I highly recommend taking at least one with you."

"No. If I do, then it will all be for nothing."

The driver just continued on, glancing back at the Earth Alliance officer that was now his passenger every now and then. The young woman had the appearance and air of a soldier, with brown eyes that pierced the soul of the person observed. Dark brown hair hid those eyes slightly while not entirely covering them.

Looking out the window, the EA officer had a distant look in her eyes, as if reflecting on something from her past or the future. The driver then pulled into the airport, the officer getting ready to leave for her new position.

"Good luck…Ma'am…"

* * *

_White House_

Vice President Young watched as the plane left the airport in the capital. He knew Congress had stopped her, but then again, she _was_ his superior, so it was not like _he_ could have anyway. It was lucky that the legislative body had pulled rank on her.

Still, what she been about to do was crazy, so crazy that he had been unable to believe that it was her idea in the first place. _'A president pulling off such a mission…who would have thought…'_

He knew that she was not one to sit back and just let things play out. She wanted to get out and actually do something, not be cooped up in the White House. Vice-President Young smirked to himself, wondering if she would re-invent how the presidency did things in the future. It was highly possible, at the rate she was going at least. But this was one area where even _she_ had no control over. That was why someone else was going in her place.

The smile faded before the plane left the airspace of Washington D.C., but he knew that the young woman was more than capable of handling herself. It was what Azrael would do if he found out that worried him.

And he hoped that the man never did find out…

* * *

_Dominion_

Natarle looked over at the new soldiers entering the ship, one of which was an Ensign Dana Lockhart. The young officer was a new recruit apparently, which was not much of a surprise. They needed all the help that they could get.

The female officer's record was before her.

_'Apparently she is a war orphan, with a hatred for ZAFT. Typical of the soldiers here. No parents or siblings… That is strange, but I can't complain. High marks on her tests upon graduation…100% pure Natural too. As usual. Apparently from the AEU…Many will love that.'_

Lokchart's record was spotless, a trait that all EA officers wanted. She also had good marks in repair of mechanics. That would come in handy, Natarle knew.

Still, it was like the ensign had come up out of nowhere. Then again, so did most soldiers in the Earth Forces anyway. But complaints would have to wait until after the war was won.

* * *

_Crew Quarters_

Ensign 'Dana Lockhart' sat in her bunk, looking at a small photo that was held in her hands tightly. It was of a woman, a man, a young man, and a young woman. All were smiling, happy as could be, at least, before the mission that came up.

"Blue Cosmos…they will fall from the inside out…" she murmured as she put the photograph away in her breast pocket. Standing up, Ensign Lockhart straightened out her uniform before exiting the room.

She made her way down the hallway, reflecting on the reasons she took on such a mission. It was mainly to get intelligence on what Blue Cosmos had planned, but there were other important reasons as well. Protecting her home nation was one of them.

The young woman stopped and looked out the window at the setting sun. It was just like back in the White House, except the view was much different. There, grass stood and the buildings of the capital were a familiar and calming sight. Here, there was only water and military buildings, which alone made her feel uncomfortable in knowing that if she was found out, then the President would be hard-pressed to do whatever Blue Cosmos wanted in order to ensure her safe return, if the group ever did release her that is.

Ensign Lockhart just shook her head and proceeded on with her routine patrol of the ship's halls. She encountered several EA officers, but they paid her no heed. To them, she was just another normal Natural who hated ZAFT. But to the people of her home nation, she was a soldier who respected the rights of everyone, not just Naturals.

It was quite a contrast to the life she already knew, she mused. To anyone in her home nation, she represented the defense of Coordinator rights to many. And yet, here in the Earth Forces, she was just another Coordinator-hating Natural to them and nothing more.

Fighting to wipe out Coordinators was wrong. In many ways, ZAFT was not that much better than the EA, as they wanted to wipe out all Naturals. How ironic, she noted. Both groups wanted to wipe out one another, to ensure that they would live in peace. Two groups, supposedly so different, were so alike in many more ways than just one.

Both Naturals and Coordinators wanted peace for their people. And they were willing to go as far as wiping each other out to do so. Why they failed to see that they were much more alike than they assumed was just mind-boggling as well as interesting from a scientist's point of view.

Shaking her head, she brought herself back to the real world. Fading from the real world was not exactly what she wanted to do in the middle of such a dangerous mission.

The ensign made her way over to the windows and looked out on the setting sun. The light reflected off the wings of the ship, giving it a deep red glow that seemed to be the color of blood. It made her shiver inside just looking at it. The black did little to make it any better.

In contrast, the sister ship seemed to have that bright red defiance given off when the sun hit it just right. From what she had seen anyway… Ensign Lockhart turned away and walked back towards her room, her eyes hidden by her dark brown hair.

No one paid any attention to her as she wandered back the way she came. EA officers just smirked as they walked past her. A trio was talking as they made their way to the lounge.

"Those space-monsters will never know what hit them when we take back the space ports we lost." A lieutenant said as he glanced back at his two comrades.

"It's just too bad that _NASA_ had to be so defiant and fight against us. With their help, we could have won the war a lot sooner." A female replied in a nonchalant manner. "Oh well. If those traitors want to die, then we can kill them along with their precious inhuman citizens that they protect so dearly."

The last member laughed. "Yeah, it will sure show them how futile it is to resist us!" he declared as the trio laughed like what they were talking about was a funny joke that they heard in the park.

Ensign Lockhart could not help but feel disgust towards the Earth Forces. How could they even sleep at night, knowing that they killed a living, breathing, human being?! Oh! That's right. The Coordinators were _not_ human according to the Earth Alliance, or more specifically, Blue Cosmos.

She clenched her fists, hatred rising inside her, but she pushed it down. Her mission came first. _Then_ she could focus on getting the information on the Earth Alliance officers and governments. Right now, she had to remain in control.

Memories of her commander-in-chief killing those two ZAFT pilots came to mind. _'Not to mention she was able to kill two ZAFT pilots_.' She thought to herself.

The ease with which the president had defeated those two pilots made her feel scared about what she could do in actual combat as well as when the EA had tried to invade their home. But yet, the president had also probably felt like a soldier again, and the feeling of being able to actually do something was what she had relished in. Fighting had probably never felt so _good_ before, considering her position.

Ensign Lockhart could only wonder if the president was thinking about her and what her mission chances were. She was only a recent recruit to the US Navy, and yet she was being given such a to-secret assignment. She was probably worried about her regardless.

Still, if she could do it just once, just once, she would feel like she had accomplished something, knowing that she had made a difference in the course of the war.

She reflected on the mission, and how everyone around her had been shocked to say the least.

-_Flashback_-

_"You can't be serious! You're the leader of the country! How can you even think of doing such a thing?!" the leader of the Congress demanded. "You are needed here more than anything!"_

_"I know that!" she snarled back. "But I can't just sit back and be a figurehead! I _NEED_ to be out there! I NEED to make a difference! I _FOUGHT_ two ZAFT pilots and WON, not to mention I HELPED to defend our nation! If I can do that, then I can do THIS! I was a soldier before I even took the oath of office, so I can handle myself!"_

_The vice-president just put a hand on the table and looked at her. "We all know what happened. But you also forget, you reported seeing a small seed-like object explode before you killed the last pilot and again during the invasion of our home. That alone is a bit of a concern to us. We need you here so we can observe what happens to see if that small seed-like object will reappear and what exactly happens when it explodes."_

_"So?! That does not matter! This mission NEEDS to be completed so that we can end the war!" she replied._

_"I know that." The vice-president replied. "But you cannot be the one to carry it out. You are too vital to lose. If the country loses its second president in a year, then the world will try to take advantage of it."_

_She just glared at him. "So I am to be just a figurehead then?"_

_"No. You actually run the nation, just not from the frontlines."_

_"But President Washington did once!"_

_"Yes, and he was the leader of the Continental Army _before_ he became President."_

_"Prime Minister Churchill did as well!"_

_"Yes, but he was never on the battlefield himself."_

_"SO?!"_

_"You are acting too immature to be president!" The leader of Congress shouted. "Frankly, I'm surprised that you have lasted this long, considering how you have no real experience in the field of politics. But such an attitude will get you nowhere. You are the leader of a nation, so _act like it_, otherwise you _will_ be kicked out!"_

_She stared but did not lose her focus. "I can't just sit back and do nothing, senator." She replied calmly. The fact that she was in such control of herself seemed to be a surprising and sudden turnaround from her earlier outburst._

_"It does not matter if I am to remain in the nation. I cannot be forced to sit back when I can actually do something to help try and end the war." She explained._

_The leader of the Congress sat back down, his hands folded in front of him. "I see. While we respect your desire to help out your nation, we cannot allow it to happen. You are too important to lose, and we can't risk Blue Cosmos getting what they want by using you against us. _But_, that is not to say this mission can't be carried out. It just can't be carried out by you."_

_"I see." She sighed. "Okay. I relent. You guys win. However, the fact that you agree with me gives me some relief. But _I_ get to choose who will go on the mission."_

_The Congressional leader nodded. "Very well. That we can allow."_

_The vice-president sighed. "I guess this means I will be choosing the person then."_

_She grinned back at him. "Yep, so you had better get used to being my second."_

_He just shook his head._

_-End Flashback-_

She smiled at the result of her pleas to the Congress. They had seen it her way and allowed her to pull off the mission so far, albeit with someone else going on it. But all of it hinged on whether she could pull off the assignment or not. If she did, then she would be allowed on the battlefield herself from then on. If she failed, then she was stuck back in the nation on stateside duty.

And _that_ she wished to avoid.

It was just not in her nature to do such a thing anyway.

Her com-line beeped, indicating that it was from the NASA capital. Ensign Lockhart opened the link, revealing her contact.

_"How is the mission going?"_ she asked.

"Well, so far so good, but I just can't help but feel disgusted at the way these people are acting. They are joking about killing the citizens of NASA along with the Coordinators, which is a serious crime and human rights violation."

Her contact frowned. _"I see. You know you can always back out."_

"Yeah, I know. But I can't. Not when there is so much at stake anyway."

_"That is what I was afraid of."_ Her contact sighed. _"Just don't forget who you really are when on this mission."_

She frowned slightly, knowing that she was worried about her losing sight of who she really was and just becoming another normal Earth Alliance officer who hated Coordinators. "I won't. I can handle this with no trouble."

_"I know."_

"Still, the target has not been confirmed yet. There is no sign of him on the ship so far, but that could change." Ensign Lockhart replied.

_"I see. So that means you will be there for another three months if he does not show."_

"Yes. And that I wish to avoid. You never know though. He could come sooner or later. It all depends." She reminded her.

Her contact nodded. _"Very well then. May you succeed in your mission."_

She closed the line, knowing that she could have been overheard, but there was no sign of such a thing having occurred. She was safe, for now…

* * *

The _Eternal_ escapes from the PLANTs with Lacus, Athrun, and Patrick Zala onboard. At the same time the 7th and 11th Fleets defend the stolen ZAFT ship as an assassin makes her way into the Earth Alliance forces. What awaits now? Read on to find out! :3 Flames, AKA, hate filled/spamming reviews, **_will_** be deleted **_AND/OR_** reported depending on if they are signed or not. Anyway, read and review! ^^


	30. Phase 29: What Stands in the Way

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. Nor do I own Martin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: You will see as the story progresses~! :3**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :)**

**A0930: Yes, Siegel is dead, but you will like this next chapter too. :3**

**bvh:** PLEASE** use a **consistent** guest name! Geez... But I am glad you still like it. But I want to know **_WHAT_** you love about it, not just that you like it, even though I like hearing that as well.**

**KentLinuxStadfelt: You will have to see what happens next, and no, I am not considering openings at the moment. Sorry. :(**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those with an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you are a guest without an account, **PLEASE** put a **CONSISTENT** guest name. Thanks!**

* * *

Phase Twenty-Nine: What Stands In The Way

_An Apartment Complex_

_Aprilius One_

"Ian, I want some answers. And I want them now." Admiral Rebbecca Kessel demanded. "It was bad enough when Saul went missing and you were forced to go on the run. But now our daughter and her entire Fleet have betrayed ZAFT. What is going on here?"

Ian sighed. "Siegel Clyne is dead."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Wu's men murdered him."

"There have been no reports of Siegel's death. How do you know that?" his wife asked.

"Because I saw the aftermath..."

-_Flashback-_

_A group of ZAFT soldiers stood guard in front a seemingly normal house. The only difference between this house and the house next to it was the bullet holes in the front of the house and the bloodbath inside._

_A black car pulled up to the house. A man with dark brown hair, wearing a black suit and sunglasses entered stepped out of the car. "Agent Birkin, Justice Department." he said, flashing his ID. "What happened?"_

"_We got a tip that the Clynes and their supporters were hiding out in this residence." a ZAFT Lieutenant replied. "We were dispatched to investigate and arrest the Clynes if they were here. But they opened fire on us and we were forced to defend ourselves."_

"_Show me." the agent emotionlessly replied._

_The lieutenant led him into the house. Inside, was a massacre. Blood and bullet holes were everywhere. Just over a dozen bodies, covered with tarps, lay on the ground. "In the end, there was only one Clyne here. And we took care of him for resisting." the lieutenant said with a smirk as he uncovered the body furthest from the door._

_It was Siegel Clyne. He was dead. His body riddled with bullet holes._

"_You fools!" Birkin cursed. "You were supposed to take him alive!"_

"_Bah. So what? They would have killed him anyway. We just saved them the time of giving him a trail before the firing squad."_

"_Idiot! You were told to take him alive in case Lacus wasn't with him! Do you know why?"_

"_Ah-"_

"_Because he would know where Lacus is!" Birkin shouted. "Now, thanks to you morons, we have no leads and no idea where Lacus Clyne is! And now I have to explain to my superiors and the Chairman why we have no more leads."_

_Before the lieutenant could say anything, he stormed out of the house and headed for his car. Birkin started it up and sped off. A few minutes later, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number._

"_DeCosta here." a voice said over the phone._

"_It's me." Ian replied. "Siegel's dead."_

_-Flashback End-_

"Siegel wasn't caught in the crossfire. I could understand that. His body was littered with dozens of bullets. They had executed him. And the way that man talked about it... This is what Hong Fa Wu has done to ZAFT. He's turned them into a group of Natural hating thugs."

Rebecca sighed. She hated politics. They always caused too many problems for soldiers like her. As far as she was concerned, the military and politics should never mix. "And Diana?"

"If I had to say, she's simply doing what she believes in. Apparently, she believes that ZAFT no longer fits her beliefs and has left to join a group that does. And I have to agree with her." Ian replied. "It's changed under Wu's rule. And not for the better."

* * *

_Archangel-class Assault Ship, the Dominion_

_Near the Ptolemaeus Crater Base_

"Sensors are detecting something! Distance 500, Orange 14 Mark 233 Alpha. Large heat source approaching! Looks like a warship class."

"Stand by for anti-ship and anti-mobile suit combat!" the _Dominion_'s Captain ordered. "Starboard 10, lower bow, pitch angel 15! Activate Igelstellungs! Target enemy warship! Load missile launchers one through four with Korinthos! Valiants! Fire!"

The Bridge crew rushed to fulfill their tasks. But they were all green and weren't fast enough to finish in time. And the simulation ended with the _Dominion_'s destruction.

"What the hell are guys doing?" a very annoyed Natarle Badgiruel shouted, chewing out her bridge crew. "You're responding much too slowly! At this rate, we'll be destroyed in our first battle!"

This was the third simulation in row they had failed and she was beginning to become very angry at their lack of success. Even the children from Heliopolis were better than this. Yet Ensign Lockhart was the only one who was learning fast enough. "You all could learn a thing or two from Ensign Lockhart here! She is the only one who is really learning what to do!"

"Captain. We have an incoming message from the fleet headquarters." the comm officer said. "Hold position for incoming shuttle and mobile suits."

Natarle glanced out the window. A group of mobile suits led by a shuttle, was approaching the ship. Most of the mobile suits were Strike Daggers, but there were four that clearly weren't. Those four reminded Natarle of the G-Weapons from Heliopolis and she assumed they were the next generation of those mobile suits.

"Open the hanger hatches." she ordered.

A short while later, after the shuttle and the mobile suits had boarded the _Dominion_, Captain Bernard of the Ptolemaios Base, a blond haired man in a blue suit and four pilots in odd flightsuits, stepped onto the bridge.

"I apologize for interrupting you in the middle of a simulation." Bernard said.

"It was no problem at all, sir." Natarle replied as she and the bridge crew saluted.

Bernard returned the salute. "Allow me to introduce you to Director Muruta Azrael of the Atlantic National Defense Conglomerate. I'm sure you've heard the name before."

Natarle nodded. She was familiar with the man's name. He was after all the head of the largest weapons manufacturer for the Advanced European Union and the Earth Alliance.

Ensign Lockhart seemed to growl at his mere presence, but she paid him no heed. She was, after all, a lowly grunt, someone expendable to him, and nothing more.

"He will be joining you aboard this ship as an observer of the four state of the art mobile suits that have been transferred onto the ship."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Captain." Azrael drawled.

"Lieutenant Commander Natarle Badgiruel."

"I must admit, I never expected the Captain of this ship to be this young and beautiful." Azrael said before turning to Captain Bernard. "Is this some sort of added benefit?"

"Not to worry. She is very skilled." the Captain replied. "Her family has a long history of military service. In addition, prior to her posting here, she served as the first officer of the _Archangel_."

Arzael was impressed by this. "So you're very familiar with the _Archangel_ then?" he said. "That will be very useful. Since our mission is to hunt down and sink the _Archangel_."

* * *

Ensign Lockhart let out a roar as she punched the wall. How could _that_ man be on the very ship that she was on as well? Didn't he realize that he was inadvertently putting her in danger of losing her life as well?!

She closed her eyes, recalling her reason for being there. _'I can't let my emotions rule me. I _have_ to remain calm. Just remember the training…'_ Falling back on her training from boot camp, Ensign Lockhart was able to bring her emotions under control.

Reaching up to touch a small Bluetooth, she called her contact. "Target confirmed. On ship, briefing everyone."

Those six words were all the confirmation that NASA would need. Her mission had begun.

* * *

_Inside the Mendel Colony's Harbor_

_Several Hours Later_

"Captain! Seven incoming warships!" Sai shouted. "Six Nazca-class and one unknown!"

"Scramble all-"

"Hold it." John said, interrupting her. "They may just be passing through here and not even know we're here. Rushing in isn't wise. Get us a visual first."

The lead ship was a pink vessel that was unlike anything they had seen before. But the other three were a familiar sight. The three painted Nazca-class warships were of ZAFT's 11th Fleet while the three normal Nazca-class warships were of the famed 7th Fleet. John took a sip of coffee through a straw. "Well now. This is interesting." he commented.

"Captain! Incoming transmission."

"Let's hear it." Murrue said.

Kira's voice came over the comm. "Archangel, Kusanagi, _this is Kira Yamato. These ships are not our enemies. Please stand down."_

John laughed. "Wow! Those three are something else! They leave with a shuttle and two mobile suits and come back with seven warships!"

A short while later, the seven ships entered the hanger alongside the _Archangel _and _Kusanagi_. The bridge crews of both vessels and some of their mobile suit pilots had gathered inside a docking passage, waiting to meet the crews of the newcomers. The doors opened and group of mostly ZAFT officers entered. At the head of the group was...

"Andy! You magnificent bastard!" John shouted in joy. "I should have known you were too stubborn to die that easily!"

Both men laughed as they shook hands. At that moment, a portion of the ZAFT officers saluted John. "Commander. It is good to see you again." a black-haired woman said.

John returned the salute. "Same here. And I see that you're the same as always, Ice Queen."

Waltfeld turned to Murrue. "Would it be out of line to say it's a pleasure to finally meet you all face to face? I'm Andrew Waltfeld."

"Commander Diana Kessel. 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet." Diana added.

The other black-haired woman, wearing the black commander uniform of NAZAFT, saluted as well. "Commander Tao White, formerly of ZAFT, now with NAZAFT's 7th Independent Mobile Fleet."

"Murrue Ramius." Murrue said. "I must admit, I am quite surprised you all here."

"Same here." Andy replied, turning to Kira and Lacus. "Right youngster?"

"You have a very good reason to want me dead." Kira solemnly said.

"We're in a war." Waltfeld commented. "Everyone has a reason, yet no one does."

Kira nodded his head. "Thank you."

* * *

_The Archangel's Hanger_

_A Short While Later_

Dearka, Saul, and Nicol hadn't gone with the others to meet the crews of the newly arrived warships. Instead, they had opted to remain behind to do a maintenance check on their machines before going out to help the Astray pilots with gathering the supplies from Mendel. "So who do you think the newcomers are?" Nicol asked as he climbed out of the Neo Blitz's cockpit and floated down to his teammates.

"Don't know." Dearka replied. "Heard they're from ZAFT though."

"You think Yzak's with them?" Nicol asked.

"Doubt it. If he was, he would have come here by now." Saul said. "Probably a bunch of hot shot pilots that think they're all that."

"Hello Saul." a voice said from directly behind Saul, sending a shiver up his spine.

Saul slowly turned around. Coming face to face with his sister Diana. "Er...Hello sis."

"It's good to see you again Saul." she said before her fist hit his stomach.

Saul stumbled back in the zero-g environment, hitting the Neo Blitz's foot. "And if you ever do that again, you better be dead. Because otherwise, I'll hunt you down and make you wish you had died. Am I clear?"

"Yes ma'am." Saul instantly answered.

Diana nodded and left the trio. "Damn. That woman's scary." Dearka said as soon as she was safely out of the hanger.

Both Nicol and Saul could only nod their heads in agreement.

* * *

"To think that she managed to escape with something like this ship and three Nazca-class ships. Not to mention finding the 7th Fleet who deserted ZAFT as well. She's really something." Cagalli commented, staring at the _Eternal_ with Athrun.

"Yeah." he said as Cagalli glanced at Kira and Lacus together in another catwalk.

"You don't mind, do you?" she asked. "She is your fiancée, right?"

"Ex-fiancée." Athrun replied. "Because I was such a fool."

Cagalli shrugged. "Well, better to realize that now than never." she said, a smile forming on her lips. "And I think Kira is just as much a fool. I guess even Coordinators can do stupid things. So, we might as well get used to it."

"You think so? I guess you're right.

The two glanced up again at Kira and Lacus.

"My father... He's dead Kira..." Lacus said to Kira, finally releasing tears and sorrow she had held in since she learned of her father's death.

She hugged Kira and cried into her chest. Kira simply hugged her back. This war had claimed many loved ones already. Flay's father. Those people on the shuttle. Waltfeld's lover. Tolle. Cagalli's father's friend. And now Lacus's father. It had to stop before more loved ones were killed. They had to stop it.

Chris watched the two groups from further down one of the catwalks. He sighed. He missed Flay and watching them only made it worse. But she was safe on Earth at least. He didn't have to worry about her safety.

* * *

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry about Aisha." John said, taking a sip of coffee.

Andy silently sipped his own coffee. "Actually, she survived as well. She chose to stay in the cockpit after I told her to get out." he finally said. "I guess she wanted to be with me regardless of the outcome."

John nodded before taking another sip. "She is a good woman. And loves you dearly. Had this war never happened, I suppose the two of you would have gotten married by now."

"Probably. I had considered proposing to her. But with the war going on, I felt like it wasn't the right time. I probably will once all this ends."

"Excuse me sirs." Diana said, approaching the pair.

"Ah Diana. Have you met with your brother yet?" John asked as he turned to her.

"Yes sir."

"So how many times did you hit him?"

"Only once." she replied.

"Only once? Don't tell me you're going soft on me." John teased.

"No sir. Won't dream of it, sir."

"And stop with all this sir stuff. We're over the same rank now. So there's now need for that."

"Sorry sir."

John hung his head in comedic manner and sighed as Andy laughed. "Some things never change." John muttered. "So any reason why you came by?"

"I wanted to ask when you'd be transferring back to the _Odin_ and taking command of the Fleet sir." Diana answered.

John shrugged. "That eager to relinquish command? That's not a sign of a good officer."

"Perhaps. But the 11th Fleet has always been your Fleet sir. You practically built it from the ground up. You're the only one that should be commanding it sir."

"Well then, I guess it's time for me to take command once more."

* * *

_Flay wandered the corridors of the _Archangel_. But this wasn't a pleasant walk through the halls. Blood and bodies filled the corridors. The bodies of the crew of the _Archangel_. Chief Murdoch. Dr. Hunnicutt. And many more people that she knew lined the halls._

_But they all couldn't be dead. Someone had to still be alive. She continued to search the ship for someone, anyone that was still alive. Eventually she found herself on the bridge._

_But it wasn't any different from the rest of the ship._

_Captain Ramius sat in her chair, her lifeless eyes staring out into space. Blood poured down from wounds on her face and chest. John was sprawled over his console. His face was locked in an expression of terror. Below in the CIC, Miriallia was lying half on the ground, in a pool of blood. Next to her was Sai. His broken glasses were on the verge of slipping off his face. Natarle was there as well. She was slumped on her chair and like the others, had blood pouring from numerous wounds._

_Suddenly, the sounds of battle filled her ears, distracting her from the horrors around her. She turned to the large bridge window. The Raven and the Strike battled two mobile suits she had never seen before. One was black and red. Armed with a number of heavy weapons. The other was dark gray and didn't engage them that much. Only firing the occasional shot from its rifle._

_The black and red machine fired its two hand carried cannons at the Strike. The Strike raised its shield. But the multi-phase beams destroyed the Strike's shield and the arm holding it, as well as its right leg. And he continued to fire on the Strike. Obliterating the white and blue mobile suit._

"_Kira..." a horrified Flay whispered._

_Then Kira's murderer turned to the Raven. It repeatedly fired its cannons at the Raven. But the Raven transformed into its mobile armor mode. In that state, it was too fast and maneuverable. It dodged the shots and flew in close to the mobile suit. The Raven transformed back and before his opponent could react, sliced through its chest with his beam sabers. The black and red mobile suit exploded._

_But as soon as the fireball died out, the gray mobile suit attacked, releasing a number of strange funnel shaped objects from its backpack. The funnels surrounded the Raven, firing beams at it. The Raven tried to avoid the beams. But they were coming from all directions. He dodged one shot, but another shot blew off its left arm. Another tore through its right wing. Its head exploded. Its right leg was severed at the shin. The Raven's railgun was destroyed. By the end, the Raven was completely helpless._

_Then the funnels all at once, fired at the Raven's torso._

"_NOOOOOOOO!"_

"NOOOOOOOO!" Flay screamed as she shot up.

Her breathing was heavy and frantic. She was in Creuset's quarters. Thankfully, she was alone. But it had all been a nightmare. The _Archangel,_ and everyone on board, was still alive. Chris was still alive.

She pulled out the dog tag Chris had given her, from underneath her undershirt and held it in her hands. Chris told her that as long as she wore it, she would be safe. But for the first time wonder, if they were protecting her, what about Chris? He was the one out there fighting. Risking his life. He needed it more than she did. She should have refused it, so he would still have it. "Please." she whispered. "Please. I don't care how this war ends. So long as Chris and I are together again after it's all over."

* * *

_The Archangel's Bridge_

_The Next Day_

"As some of you already know, this colony was scrapped before the war because of a biohazard incident years earlier." Samuel explained to the gathered group of people from the _Archangel_, the _Eternal_, the _Kusanagi_, the 7th Fleet and the 11th Fleet.

Mu nodded. "Yeah. I remember that incident. It caused quite a stir."

"But because of that, it has received only minimal damage and pirates and the like have avoided it out of fear of being exposed to what caused the biohazard in the first place." Samuel continued. "So this place is ideal for us to use as a base for now."

"Our immediate concern is the moon. From what we've heard, the Earth Forces have been continually sending forces from Victoria since they took it back." Lacus said.

"That can only mean one thing, they're planning an all-out attack on the PLANTs." John added, now wearing his old Commander's uniform with his black leather trenchcoat over the top.

"You think they'd actually do that?" Murrue asked.

"Of course. Their forces are full of people who have always wanted to do that." Andrew replied. "For the preservation of our blue and pure world."

"Let's not start that." Mu said in an annoyed tone.

"Hey. They're not my words. Though I can't see how getting rid of all the Coordinators will lead to a pure world. Hell, I don't even know what a pure world is."

"Then there's Hong Fa Wu and those that think like him in the PLANTs. They believe that because of the superior abilities of Coordinators, they are the new and superior race of humanity. And Naturals are nothing but vermin compared to them." John added as Cagalli left the bridge. "As Lord Uzumi said, neither side will tolerate the other to exist."

"We live in such a cruel time." Murrue said, leaning onto Mu.

Mu nodded. "Yeah."

"Then there is NASA, the one side that many wish to avoid due to their power. _BUT_, back in the past, they were well-known in the human rights arena, as they did not tolerate anyone, and I mean _anyone_, who violated the basic human rights that ALL humans are entitled to. And it is because of their power that no one dared to call them out on it. If someone was violating human rights, then they did not say that America was wrong and that they were right. And no. This isn't a cruel time for humanity. It's actually fairly normal." John said. "Look at our past. Just about every war, every conflict, has, in the end, been like this. Two groups of people unable to tolerate each other for whatever reason and descending into violence. That's the flawed nature of humanity. People tend not to like people that aren't like them."

"But it has always been we humans who do this and who stop this. Throughout history there have been many people who feel the way we do." Lacus said as she placed a hand on Kira's shoulder. "Wouldn't it be great to create a world where fighting is not necessary?"

Kira smiled. "Yeah."

* * *

Athrun stared out into the Mendel Colony's harbor. His thoughts were on everything that had recently happened at the PLANTs with the Chairman. He had hoped that he could have reasoned with his father's friend, convince him to find a way to end this war peacefully. But he wouldn't listen and instead, threatened him and shot him.

"I finally found you." Cagalli said, pulling him away from his thoughts. "I bet your mind's going around in circles, getting nowhere. That's why you need to discuss what's on your mind with everyone. When we gather for meetings, you should be there too."

"Sorry."

Cagalli glanced at his arm brace. "Does it hurt?"

"Ah, no." he lied.

"What are you talking about? Of course it hurts. You were shot by your own father. Well, not your father per say, but his friend. Ah, I mean, former friend."

"I couldn't stop him. I realized it for the first time. I was totally powerless. And I didn't understand a thing." he admitted to her.

"Everyone feels that way. Those who think they understand are only fooling themselves." Cagalli shot back.

"Cagalli..."

"It's still too early to give up on your father's friend. You may still have the chance to talk to him properly. So stop standing around alone looking so hesitant and-"

Athrun interrupted her by hugging her with his good arm. He didn't know why, he just felt like doing it. "Sorry."

"Wh-What do you mean, sorry?" Cagalli stuttered as she tried half-heartedly to break free of the embrace.

"Well, like I said. Sorry."

* * *

_The Vesalius_

"This is the _Eternal_'s projected course, calculated from the data we received from Jachin Due." Rau explained to Ades and the gathered pilots.

"The L4 Colony Group. As expected. We continue to have problems there. First it was dealing with those suspicious people hiding out there, and now this." Ades said.

"I can't imagine the Clyne Faction would be this organized. When did they get the desire to fight? And a number of our forces have defected to their side. We should expect anything." Rau said.

"I've personally met Commander Waltfeld, Commander White, and Commander Kessel before. I never would have expected this from either of them." Ades commented.

"He's a war hero who miraculously made it back alive after an encounter with the legged ship and its mobile suits. And she was the former student and successor to one of the best space commanders we had. Not to mention, she is the new leader of the most insane space fleet ever to exist. Who would have expected this from them?" Rau replied.

"It's too bad we have to get involved with this mess." Ades said with a sigh.

"Yes. But it can't be helped. Things seldom go as you plan. It's not an easy thing to try and understand, the thoughts hidden within one's heart." the masked commander said.

"Yzak. From now on, Athrun is your enemy. Can you shoot him down?" Rau asked his white haired subordinate.

"Of course! I'll shoot down any traitor!" Yzak sharply replied.

* * *

_Le Creuset's Quarters_

_A Short While Later_

Rau collapsed into the chair behind his desk. Drained. Flay moved to the side of the desk. For the first time since she was first captured by him, she felt concern for him. Of course, that was probably more because she was worried about what would happen to her and her unborn child if something happened to him. "You're exhausted." she commented.

"I'm only human, my dear." the masked man replied.

"I've spent much of my life as a soldier, going from one battlefield to another." Le Creuset added. "If you say it's because I'm a soldier, I have no argument. But no one is ever born into this world a soldier."

The words struck a nerve within Flay. She remembered her previous life before the attack on Heliopolis. She had been a pampered teenager with a doting, wealthy father. She once had lived a life in relative luxury. But that was all gone. Now she was a POW and a mother to be. And yet, aside from her father, she didn't miss any of what she once had. That life now seemed almost completely alien to her.

"I'd like nothing more than to put an end to that forever. And wouldn't you?" he said, pulling out a disk from the drawer. "I hold the final key, but if it stays here then the final door will never be opened. I wish there was something I could do about it."

Flay gazed at the disk, wondering what secrets it held. Wondering how it could be the key to ending the war. And if she should truly believe what he said.

* * *

_The Dominion_

"Clotho Buer. Enhancement implants, stage three. Biological CPU for the X-370. All personal data deleted."

"Martin Nightingale. Stage four enhancement implants. Biological CPU for the X-151. No personal data."

"Orga Sabnak. Biological CPU for the X-131. Stage two enhancements. Also no personal data."

"Shani Andras. Stage four. Biological CPU for the X-252. No personal data."

Natarle shook her head. She had been curious about those four pilots Azrael had brought on board. There was something... off about them. They didn't seem to be normal soldiers. Then there was the extra medical personal that had come on board and taken over one of the med bays. But just looking them up in the ship's records led to only more questions. "All four are classified as equipment. Not pilots." she commented.

It didn't make sense. Why would they be listed as 'Biological CPUs' for their mobile suits? Why were their personal records deleted? Was that how Azrael and her higher ups saw these pilots? Just equipment?

"How much longer before we get to L4?" Azrael asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"We're almost there." Natarle replied. "But I'm still not convinced that we should be going there without any proof."

"My sources are accurate. And that's all the proof we need. It's not as if we're going there based on nothing."

"But you can't trust information from the PLANTs! It could be a trap!" Natarle argued.

Truthfully, she did not wish to fight Captain Ramius and the rest of her former crew members aboard the _Archangel_. But she had no choice in the matter.

"The Freedom, Wing Zero, and the Justice. They're the codenames of the three machines we're after. And they're sending five Nazca-class vessels to L4 after them. If the information is true, we can't afford to miss this chance. That's why we're going." Azrael leaned on her chair's display screen and continued. "Let me make one thing perfectly clear. You may be the captain assigned to command this ship. But there are people higher up that have to look at the larger picture here. You've been told to do as I say, right? Just make sure you don't forget that."

Ensign Lockhart could not help but overhear the comments about the four pilots she had seen earlier. They were listed as _equipment_?! She clenched her fists before she shook her head. Once again, she had to keep her emotions in check.

He entered the room, startling the men and women in the bridge. The man in charge, Azrael, looked in his direction. "Ensign Dana Lockhart." She said, saluting in the manner of the Earth Forces.

"Ah. You must be that ensign recently assigned to the ship, is that right?" he remarked, looking her up and down.

"Yes, sir." She replied. "I could not help but overhear that the four pilots of this ship are listed as equipment?"

Azrael looked at her with a suspicious look. "Why do you want to know, Mists Lockhart?"

The ensign looked nervous and fearful for the briefest of moments before it faded. "I was just curious. I am new here, after all."

The blonde man smirked at her. "Of course you are, my boy. You see, we need to do anything to win against those who are better than us in EVERY manner. And that means doing things that are not allowed by laws, laws that are outdated in this era of war. The laws of warfare, and human rights, all outdated and no longer applicable in this time. We need to defy those very laws that once held us back, and those very laws are old and no longer capable of being enforced. As if they could anyway. Then, this world will be pure and blue once again!"

She shuddered at his words, wondering how this man slept at night, knowing that what he was doing was wrong on so many levels.

"What about the United Nations? What if they find out?" She asked.

"Those old fools will not do a thing to stop us. After all, they declared neutrality on each and every issue that comes up to date. They cannot and are not fit to lead this world. Only Blue Cosmos and Logos can bring about the new era everyone wants!" Azrael replied.

Ensign Lockhart gulped inwardly. The ironic thing was, she knew he was right. Well, only on the neutrality issue that is. And yet, the United States was already trying to lead the world in their absence, but to little effect.

"If the United Nations isn't going to stop you, what about the United _States_?"

Azrael just scoffed once. "Please. As if that nation could stand a chance against us. The Earth Alliance would just overpower the nation with its sheer numbers. Even they have to fall sometime."

Deep down, Ensign Lockhart knew that he was right, but that was why she was even on such a mission. She was doing it to protect her nation from falling to Blue Cosmos and the EA that they influenced.

"After all, the United States and the United Nations are just idealists who can't even fight to protect their ideals that they spout. Well, maybe the United States has a bit of bite to match their monstrous bark, but that's it." Azrael added, a thoughtful look on his face.

"But sir, didn't they drive off the force that was to conquer them? Isn't that a bit much to be a small bite?" Ensign Lockhart asked.

Azrael looked at her like she was nuts. "Are you implying that the United States has much more power than they are letting on?"

She had a mysterious smirk. "You never know. There is nothing simple about them." With that, she turned and left.

Azrael and Natarle stared in surprise, but the former more so than the latter. What was she implying?

In her room, Ensign Lockhart opened the line to her contact. Her face came up on the screen as soon as she heard the signal from her computer.

_"I understand the target is onboard?"_

"Yes. The mission is now underway. Of course, the hard part is over. Now all I have to do is wait for the time to come."

Her contact nodded. _"I see. Very good. When will you be able to pull it off?"_

She sighed. "That is where things are getting complicated. The ship is about to head into battle and I can't just take him out right away."

_"That makes things more difficult then. If we eliminate him right now, then things could get hairy for everyone involved."_ Her contact noted.

"Agreed. That is why I think we should wait to do so until a later date. Until then, I can observe him and send back data on the ship as well as the crew and…_'equipment.'_" She explained.

_"What do you mean by that?"_

"The four pilots, they are classified as nothing more than equipment. I believe that this is confirmation of our worst fears. The Earth Alliance has created super-soldiers, and _not_ Coordinators…" her voice trailed off.

_"Oh…no…You _can't_ be serious. They _didn't_!"_ her contact exclaimed.

"They did. They have created the one thing that you have feared would exist. The Earth Alliance has created the rumored-to-exist Extended."

Her contact just slumped back in her seat. _"Then our work was all for nothing…"_

"Not necessarily." Ensign Lockhart replied. "If I can get data on the four pilots as well as the medical records used to treat them, then we can try and create a method of reversing what the Earth Alliance has done to them."

Her contact looked at her. _"Are you sure you can do that?"_

"Yes, I am."

_"Then we will have a new project to take on. And about time too. There has been a breakthrough."_

That got the ensign. "What?" She leaned forward, hands on her desk. "Are you serious?! They actually made the breakthrough we need?!"

A grin crossed her contact's face. _"That and more. We can use them once again."_

She fell back, a small laugh escaping her. "Finally! It's about time we regained use of those things!"

_"Well, I had best go for now. Update me when you get the chance next."_

"Understood."

* * *

_Washington D.C._

President Hilson looked out at the sky above the White House. She could only imagine what the world would be like if Blue Cosmos had never come about, and if Logos had never existed.

The blue sky seemed so peaceful, and yet it could change at any minute. Just like the human race could. And yet, it seemed so possible to create a truly perfect society if one acted right or made the right decisions, etc.

People walking hand in hand, regardless of genetic type. People living together without hatred for the other genetic classification. Children running about together, never knowing hatred for any reason. No one lashing out at anyone because they are inferior, etc.

The United States, her home, was often called the Coordinator's paradise due to their acceptance of them, but even then it was not a true paradise. There were still issues of acceptance, and issues of trust. Hence why they refused to become true allies of the PLANTs.

Looking back at her first predecessor on the Oval Office wall, she walked over. Reaching out to touch the painting of George Washington, the president wondered how he would react to the world around him in the present era. "What would you do?" she murmured.

The U.S. president walked back to the window, often wondering how she would be able to bring about a true paradise for everyone. It just seemed to not be possible. Sighing, she put her head down on her hands, watching the birds flit by.

But, unknown to her, the answer was right above her, and the world altogether.

* * *

_Unknown location_

Several NAZAFT officers entered a cavern of a meteoroid which was expected to hit the Earth in a few weeks. They had detected strange energy readings from it and were investigating to make sure it was nothing bad.

They drifted through the small cave before a massive opening was spotted. Light shone through, and as they entered the opening, it was revealed to be a hallway. The NAZAFT soldiers moved through the hallway, peeking in the doorways they went by. Awe was on their faces, but when they reached the main room, shock struck them hard.

Before them was a massive computer. The huge screen glowed as countless streams of data flowed over it. The numbers moved so fast that only the Coordinators of the group could see them, and even then it was a strain on their eyes. A form walked up to the computer's keyboard, which was locked to even them.

"What is this place?" a female Natural asked as she looked around the massive room. "It seems to be too advanced to be human technology."

_"Well, according to the records that were found, this all is human tech, just much more advanced than even today's technology."_ A male Coordinator replied as he walked over to the screen. _"That something like this could exist…even I am impressed."_

"Try telling that to the president. She was the one who authorized us to come here." The female Natural shot back. "Besides, we need to get data on this place before anyone is allowed to come here."

_"Yeah, yeah. I get it."_ The male Coordinator replied. He walked back over to the small group, which was now busy gathering information on the massive computer in any way that they could.

As they gathered up data, the massive screens began to change, showing an old man wearing a purple suit, with a cane, sitting in a plush library. The small group looked up in shock.

_"To those who have found this place, I had hoped that the world would become a much more peaceful place with the actions of Celestial Being. But if this message is being played, then Celestial Being has fallen, and the future of the human race lies in the hands of the United States. I had hoped to never have the world's future rely on a single nation, or a nation at all, but if Celestial Being has indeed fallen, then my plan's first phase has failed."_

Everyone in the massive room looked at the man before them on screen.

_"The second phase of my goal lies with the United States and its ideals. Only then, can the world experience true peace. The quantum supercomputer Veda will guide the President and the citizens of the United States to the future that all of humanity wants. Petty hatred over race, religious strife and subjugation into a single faith, territorial conflicts, monetary gain; all of these things must be eliminated from the human race if it is to survive in the future. The Mobile Weapons known as Gundams must be used to bring this about."_

The man's words seemed to affect everyone there, even the President, who was listening in from her office on Washington D.C.

_"To fight to end war…it seemed like a good idea at the time, but it failed if Celestial Being has fallen. The second phase has no set plan in place like the first phase did. It is dependent on how the United States can react to each situation that comes up. If the right decisions are made, then the world can truly begin to understand peace. But how the leaders react is what will either lead to the salvation of the human race, or the end of it. Normally I would never do such a thing, relying on the leaders to make the right decisions like this, but I have no choice left. This is the last chance the human race has…I just hope that it was not all in vain. If it was, then I was a fool, and a stupid one at that."_

The message cut out, leaving several stunned human forms in the Veda chamber as it was now known. _"Wow…"_ the leader murmured.

Everyone there nodded in shock, but decided to move on with their mission.

* * *

_Washington D.C._

President Hilson sat in the Oval Office, going over the message she had heard over the com-line to her office. She had her hands in front of her mouth, folded no less. There was a calculating look in her eyes as she reflected on what the message had said.

_'That man…there's no doubt about it. It is Aeolia Schenberg himself. But why is the most brilliant man to have ever lived trying to unite the human race? And why is he doing it for peace?'_ she wondered as she looked at the image of George Washington. _'And why is he, of all people, relying on a single nation to try and bring about his goals? Specifically, why the United States of all nations? Is there something about us that makes us the ideal nation to carry on his goals? And if there is, what is it that led to him placing such a burden on us?'_

Closing her eyes, the president reflected on why she was even in the office of President. It had been because of her predecessor getting killed by a Blue Cosmos member. She had agreed to take the oath of office, if only to prevent the nation from losing its leadership that had kept it going for almost five hundred years. And now it was her turn

Looking back on it, she knew that the she had made the right decision by doing so. If she hadn't, things would have gone downhill fast. President Hilson opened her eyes and stood up, walking over to the massive windows behind her desk.

The sun shone through, revealing the White House lawn where children were allowed to play as long as there was no threat to the president herself. Natural and Coordinator children ran around, playing like they had been doing so for generations. _'Fighting to unite the human race… If the second phase had been implemented earlier, then the human race would have been dead. But now, the human race is on its way to peace, and Logos/Blue Cosmos is the last obstacle in the way of that, even if they want to deny it.'_

"Humanity will be at peace soon." she murmured, almost as if reassuring Schenberg that his wish was almost a reality.

The fact that the United States had refused to fall to the anti-Coordinator ideals was a big part in the stability that still seemed to exist. Add to that the fact that the Reconstruction War had been averted due to their power and influence, and another big part was realized. She could now see what had helped to bring about the current state of the world based on the history of the nation alone.

Still, there was a long way to go before peace was truly realized…

* * *

_New Juneau_

The colony was on alert as people ran to their stations. The second of the _Archangel_-class ships, the _Dominion_, was heading towards the L4 point. And given the fact that the ship was of AEU design, they had to be ready for anything, even an attack that could wipe them out should the ship turn towards the PLANTs.

The ship did not make a move to head towards the PLANTs, but the colony was still on high alert and given the situation, they had good reason to be on high alert too.

But the _Dominion_ went on its way, and so the colony was safe, for the time being…

The NAZAFT commander looked over as the ship made its way past the colony. "So, the Earth Forces have another _Archangel_-class eh? Well, the newer a ship is does not really make a difference. It is the crew that makes all the difference. A ship with a crew that knows it well can defeat a crew that has much better technology given the right circumstances, after all."

She smiled at the recollection. It was true in so many ways.

The smile then gave way to a frown as the commander recalled what she had been told recently. _'Blue Cosmos could care less about Naturals actually winning. All they want to see is the destruction of all Coordinators. That alone is what is disturbing, even more so than the news about the United Nations.'_

She knew that the group could only go so far before even the UN got involved however, and yet she had no idea of how far they would have to go before the UN got involved again. That was the one factor that she did not know.

And all it took for this to happen was one man's secret…

"Just how far will humanity have to go before peace is finally realized?" she wondered aloud.

The answers never came…

* * *

_NASA Missile Silos_

The crews were working on installing the newly termed N-Jammer Cancellers on the old missile warheads that were still not attached fully.

They had at last found a way around the N-Jammers themselves. Of course, they were unaware that ZAFT had done the same thing, but under a different purpose.

Still, the fact that they had done so without either group knowing of it was a feat in itself, and one that they would celebrate once the war was over.

"Can you believe that we finally achieved the impossible?" A scientist asked as she watched an engineer install the device.

"Nope. But here we are, installing one of these babies on our missiles, getting them back online. Hard to believe, but it is real." The engineer replied as he hooked it up to the missile's control systems.

Another worker walked by, a smirk on his face as well. "Now we can show the Earth Forces crazies that we are not some powerless nation like the rest of them are."

"Hey, don't say that about the Earth Forces. They are fighting well, considering the fact that they do not have nuclear power." The scientist chided him.

The worker just smirked back at her before leaving. The scientist just shook her head. "Man…that guy…"

"Hey, he's right though. If we didn't have such things, then we would have been considered useless allies by the PLANTs." The engineer replied.

The scientist laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She then looked back at the missiles behind her. "Still, the Earth Forces would be more than willing to attack ZAFT if they had gotten to the N-Jammer Canceller first."

"Hey, that could change you know." The engineer replied as he closed up the missile he was working on.

"True, but if it _does_ happen, then we will be able to react as well." She reminded him.

The man just laughed at her comment. "Yeah, and they will regret it big time!"

Both laughed before looking back at the stockpile they were still working on.

"We have a deadline, and it is coming soon. If we can't complete the project, then we will have only a limited amount of missiles for defense." The engineer said.

"Yeah, but we can do it. If we found the way around the N-Jammers, then we can do this no problem." The scientist replied.

The man nodded, hoping that it would be enough to deter another war.

* * *

_Archangel_

Liz looked over in the hanger, trying to find Heero Yuy. Glancing over at Wing Zero, she could see the cockpit open. Inside was a form she knew had to be Heero Yuy. No one else was allowed in Wing Zero.

"Hey! Heero!"

Heero looked up as Liz drifted up to him. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to get back home, so I can return if need be." He replied.

Liz looked in the cockpit, only to see the simulation running. "Really? What does Zero say about your chances?"

"So far, they are getting slimmer each time I run the simulation." Heero said flatly as he ran his hand over the keyboard with the speed of a Coordinator.

"What are they as of right now?"

"10% and getting slimmer." Heero replied. He seemed to have a weary tone to his voice, but it was hard to determine if it was just that.

Liz looked back at him, still unable to get used to the fact that he was about the same age as her brother. His eyes held the look of an experienced soldier, and yet he was as young as they were. Heero was also a Natural, another thing that made him the odd one out. The only Natural capable of beating a Coordinator in combat.

"So…you are trying to get home even when you were nearly married against your will? Why?"

Heero looked over the readouts for Wing Zero, but replied anyway. "I have no future there, and I was nearly married against my will. But I want to get back home so I can be with those who are my comrades. Still, the chances of that are very slim, and if I did have that chance, I would turn it down."

Liz just shook her head. "If it is because you are the only Natural who can pilot a Gundam, then that is bad reason to try and go back to a life you did not want. Here, we do not care if you are a Natural or not. All that matters is your skills, and that you have in abundance. Do not forget that, Heero Yuy." She said before she drifted away from Wing Zero's cockpit.

Heero looked back at her, her words echoing in his mind. He knew that she was right, so he would have to just get used to his new home.

For the first time, a weight seemed to be lifted off of his chest. A small smile crept over his face as he watched Liz leave the hanger. "Thank you…"

Maybe this place wasn't so bad after all…

* * *

The battles take on a lull while everyone recovers slowly. The _Dominion_ gets new pilots while new possibilities come around. And what of this new announcement to the United States? What awaits now? Read on to find out! :3 Flames, AKA, hate filled/spamming reviews, **_will_** be deleted **_AND/OR_** reported depending on if they are signed or not. Anyway, read and review! ^^


	31. Phase 30: Spiral of Encounters

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. Nor do I own Martin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: Trust me, NASA _WILL_ expose LOGOs/Blue Cosmos soon enough. Just keep reading to see when, because it happens in the next arc. ;)**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :)**

**A0930: Celestial Being was in Gundam 00, but in this story, the group was disbanded due to conflict between them and another group. And you will see what happens as the story goes on. :) Your reviews are good to read. They make my day~! :3**

**nbj - Inconsistently named guest:** PLEASE** use **the same** guest name! Geez... But I am glad you still like it. But I want to know **_WHAT_** you love about it, not just that you like it, even though I like hearing that as well.**

**Fuyu Aki: Glad you liked it. :3**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those with an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you are a guest without an account, **PLEASE** put **THE SAME** guest name over and over again so it is easier for me to respond to you. Thanks!**

* * *

Phase Thirty: Spiral of Encounters

_The Dominion_

_Near the Mendel Colony_

Natarle sat in her command chair, completely focused on what was coming. She glanced out the bridge windows at the _Dominion_'s escorts. Two _Agememnon_-class warships. The _Washington_ and the _Luther_. Even with the two additional warships, Natarle knew this was going to be a difficult battle. She won't admit it to anyone, but she did not want to go after the _Archangel_. She'd rather that Azrael's information turn out to be false.

"Captain. Detecting one _Archangel_-class, one _Izumo_-class, six _Nazca_-class, and one unknown within the harbor."

"Wow. You would have guessed that they would have gathered so many allies in such a short time." Azrael commented.

"Bring the ship to Level One Battlestations." Natarle ordered. "Inform the _Luther_ and the _Washington_ to do the same. But do not fire until I give the order. Bring us to harbor."

* * *

_The Archangel_

"Captain! Two _Agememnon_-class warships and one unknown approaching!" Sai said.

"Bring the ship to Level One Battestations!" Murrue ordered. "Do we have a visual yet?"

"Yes ma'am." Sai replied, putting the image of the main screen.

To everyone's surprise, the lead vessel was the _Archangel_. Or rather, a second ship of the _Archangel_ class. Aside from a darker color scheme and a slightly altered radar arrays, it was identical to the _Archangel_. But that wasn't the only surprise.

"_This is the Earth Alliance_ Archangel-_Class Assault Ship, the_ Dominion." a familiar voice said over the comm. "Archangel, _can you hear me?"_

Those that had served on the _Archangel_ before JOSH-A were all stunned. They all knew that voice.

_"Your ship has been listed as a rebel ship and we therefore demand your immediate and unconditional surrender. Should you fail to abide by these orders, we will have no choice but to destroy your ship."_ Natarle Badgiruel said as her face appeared on the main screen. _"It's been a while, Captain Ramius."_

"Yes. Yes it has." Murrue replied.

_"I regret that we have to meet again under these circumstances."_

"Same here."

_"I heard about what went on in Alaska. However, I strongly suggest that you surrender and talk things over with Military Command."_ Natarle said. _"I don't know what help I can be, but I'll do everything I can to assist you. I know you're well aware of what this ship is capable of doing."_

"Natarle. Thank you, but we cannot do that. This isn't only about what happened at Alaska, or even what happened to ORB." Murrue answered. "We have serious doubts of the entire Earth Alliance as a whole. Therefore, there will be no surrender and no return to the military."

"If the Earth Alliance is willing to nearly wipe out a NASA base, then why should we trust that they will not kill us Coordinators just for even existing, huh?!" Tao demanded angrily.

_"Oh, this is so amusing."_ Azrael spoke up, clapping his hands. _"You should be embarrassed, Miss Captain. If we could solve everything by talking, there would be no conflict in this world. Enemies are made through misunderstandings. Once that happens, all that can be done is to shoot them before they shoot you."_

_"Director Azrael."_ Natarle said, trying to protest his intrusion.

"Misunderstandings? Yeah right! You would sooner kill all of us Coordinators working here than reach and understanding!" Tao snapped back.

Everyone on the _Archangel'_s bridge fell silent for a moment.

"Isn't Azrael the name of…?" Miriallia asked.

Murrue's eyes narrowed. "Yes, the leader of Blue Cosmos."

* * *

Inside the cockpit of the Exia, Chris tightened his grip on the Exia's controls as he watched things unfold on his screens. The leader of that damned organization was here. The monster responsible for the Bloody Valentine was here.

_'Focus. Focus dammit. Now is not the time for revenge. Stay focused and keep everyone alive.'_

* * *

_"Launch the Calamity, the Forbidden, the Massacre and the Raider."_ Azrael ordered. "_Today we're sinking the unsinkable_ Archangel."

Natarle cut the channel. There was no other option now. "Tell the _Luther_ and the _Washington_ to deploy all mobile suits. Open the port catapult for the mobile suits. Target the Harbor with the starboard Lohengrin!" she ordered.

As the _Dominion_'s mobile suits prepared to launch, its Lohengrin fired. The large beam streaked out and impacted the side of the colony harbor. Debris crashed onto the ships inside. "Status report." Murrue ordered.

"The ship's fine, ma'am. No real damage." Chandra replied.

Murrue opened the comm to the rest of the ships. "Is everyone else alright?"

_"We're fine."_ Kisaka replied.

_"We're fine as well."_ Waltfeld said. "_But the _Eternal_ isn't combat ready yet. We're gonna have to sit this one out."_

_"The_ Odin _is good to go. But both the_ Valkyrie _and the_ Einherjar _are trapped by debris from the shot. They need some time before they can get out." _John added. _"The_ Archangel _and the_ Kusanagi _should engage the_ Dominion _and its escorts directly."_

"What about the _Odin_?"

John grinned_. "Don't worry. I got something special cooked up."_

_"The 7th Fleet is ready to engage the enemy. We can attack from the rear using our ships to provide a distraction."_ Tao replied as she looked back at the captain from her ships.

Murrue nodded. "Very well, then. We'll deploy and engage them. Launch the _Archangel_!"

As the _Archangel_ maneuvered out of the harbor, another thought came to mind as she glanced at the debris outside. "Keep an eye for debris. The metapolymer tether lines out there are especially hazardous."

A moment later, the Freedom, the Exia, Wing Zero, and Justice both launched and immediately went after the four closest enemy units.

"Athrun, it's those guys again. The ones we fought at ORB." Kira said as they sped towards the four incoming enemy machines.

"Yeah, I see them."

At the same time, the _Kusanagi_ slowly moved from its mooring to join the battle. "Accelerate to full speed once we're outside." Cagalli ordered. "We'll cover the _Archangel_'s port flank."

"Roger that."

The _Odin_ slipped out just behind it. But instead of going to engage the Earth Alliance ships, it seemingly pulled away from the battle.

"Captain! One of the _Nazca_-class warships appears to be fleeing the area as do the other _Nazca_-class ships."

"What?"

Azrael chuckled. "I guess not all of their allies are as brave as them."

Natarle didn't say anything. It was unlikely that they were fleeing. They were no doubt trying to hide and ambush them. But if they defeated the _Archangel_ and the other ship before they were in position, it would be meaningless.

* * *

The four Biological CPUs saw their primary targets right away. As much as they wanted to just demolish them, they had to remember their orders. If they failed, they feared they'd be subjected to the punishment again.

"Remember they want these things intact." Orga said.

_"Well, you think they'd be satisfied with just one?"_ Clotho asked.

_"They better."_ Martin said. _"Cause I don't think I can stop myself from killing one of them!"_

Attacking first, the Calamity fired every weapon it possessed. Various energy beams streaked through space, forcing the Freedom and Justice to stop and dodge the shots. The Massacre opened fire on the pair, forcing them the pair to separate. The Forbidden and the Raider attacked, Shani, swinging his scythe at the Freedom while Clotho fired the Raider's hammer at the Justice.

Seeds shattered in both of their minds. Kira pulled back at the last second, avoiding the attack. Athrun blocked the hammer with his shield. The force pushed the Justice back, but spared it any damage. But pilots knew this was going to be a tough battle.

Heero then opened fire on the Calamity, forcing Orga to dodge the golden beam that lanced forth from the Twin Buster Rifle. It was not going to be easy, Heero knew, but he had to defend the ship the best he could.

Orga opened fire with all of its weapons, but Heero, having immersed himself in the Zero System, was able to see where the shots were going and dodged accordingly. The beams sped by Wing Zero as Heero made his way into the center of the attack. Orga then slammed into Wing Zero's shield, forcing the Gundam back. Igniting Wing Zero's powerful engines to full, Heero was able to overcome the thruster power of the Calamity and force the other machine back towards the battle zone.

_"No way! How can this guy have so much power?!"_ Orga exclaimed as he tried to overcome the power of Wing Zero's thrusters. It was no use though, as the Calamity's engines could barely reach the maximum thrust of Wing Zero's engines.

* * *

As the _Kusanagi_ prepared to enter the battle, Cagalli quickly surveyed the area to see where the ship needed to go first. The _Archangel_ and its forces already were taking on the _Dominion_, so that left only the two Agememnon-class warships to contend with.

"Engage the closest Agamemnon-class first." Cagalli ordered. "Aim for its engines."

But suddenly the entire ship jerked to a complete halt, as though it collided with an invisible wall. Everyone on the bridge was nearly thrown around.

"What happened?"

"Sir, we've been snared by some kind of cable! It's wrapped around the port engine section!" the helmsman answered.

"Break free!"

"We can't, we're already at maximum thrust!"

Kisaka growled in frustration. The _Kusanagi_ would be a sitting duck until it got freed. "Asagi! Get out there and cut whatever's trapping the ship!"

"Roger."

Asagi quickly left the _Kusanagi_, seeking to find where the ship was entangled and get it free. She only hoped that she had enough time.

Back on the _Dominion_, Natarle took notice of the _Kusanagi_'s plight. She opened a channel to the _Washington_ and the _Luther_. "Captain Leon, Captain Walters, the _Izumo_-class seems to be incapacitated for moment. Concentrate your forces and firepower on the _Archangel_. We need to take them out it before the ORB ship can free itself."

_"Roger."_

_"Ma'am."_

The Strike Daggers of all headed for the _Archangel_, where they came face to face with the rest of the _Archangel_'s mobile suits. Mu fired the Launcher Striker's Agni cannon, destroying a Dagger. "Eat this!" Liz shouted, firing her sniper rifle at another.

"Time for you to stop this pointless attack!" Nisha snarled as he fired all of the Z.A.M. Gundam's weapons at once.

Aki' flew around in the Wing, striking down the Strike Daggers with his machine's Taiyou-ko wing blades. Many were sliced in half and exploded or lost limbs to the speeding machine. Others lost weapons to him, while others lost their shields as well.

A pair of Daggers fired at the Neo Blitz, but Nicol deflected the beams and fired his pincer claw at one and shot at the other. Saul slice one in two with his swords as Dearka gunned down one with his cannons. A barrage of bullets tore through one Strike Dagger before the Exia's GN Beam Saber blades sliced another in three.

Elsewhere, Shani was ignoring their present orders concerning capturing the Freedom and the Justice and heading for the trapped _Kusanagi_.

"Shani, where are you going?" Clotho demanded. "Ugh, that dumbass!"

Asagi didn't need to search long before she had found the cable that had the ship immobilized. Pulling out a beam saber, she cut into the cable, melting it away layer by layer. However, due the material it was made of and its thickness, she had no idea how long it was going to take her.

Suddenly out the corner of her eye, a dark shape loomed out of nowhere. She quickly recognized it as one of the enemy Gundams from the battle back at ORB. It was right in her face, and there was no time or means to dodge or even fight back. The Forbidden reeled back its Nidhoggr scythe, ready to slice her Astray to pieces. But it was not meant to be. Something slammed into the Forbidden, sending it flying. It was the flightpack of the Justice. Athrun had come in just in enough time to save Asagi.

_"Don't just sit there!"_ he shouted. _"Hurry and get the ship loose!"_

"R-right." Asagi replied, wasting no time in getting back to work.

Athrun reattached his flightpack, when a proximity alarm rang. He saw the Forbidden was returning, this time now focusing on him. Drawing one of his beam sabers, he charged forward to answer the challenge.

Simultaneously, Kira had his hands full taking on the Raider. However, the Massacre was nowhere to be seen. The enemy machine was flying circles around him, but he did what he could to take shots at it when it drifted into his sights. The Raider came to a halt, aiming its Todesblock. Kira tried to take the chance this apparent opening gave, when a second alarm rang. He looked to see the Raider's Mjolnir hammer was coming right at him full speed. He fired the Freedom's head mounted vulcans, hitting the weapon to try and slow down its momentum. It worked just barely, but it was enough. Swinging his shield, he batted away the hammer, causing it to now strike the Raider straight in its torso.

At that very moment, Martin appeared from below, firing his head mounted beam cannon at the Freedom. Kira flew out of the path of the beams, firing his own rifle back. But the Massacre dodged his shots. The Massacre fired its cannons at the Freedom. Kira evaded the beams, only to come face to face with the Raider in its mobile armor mode, its Ahura Mazda blades activated. Kira swore as he sidestepped the machine. These pilots were skilled, far more skilled than most. Kira wasn't all that sure if he could defeat more than one of these guys at a time. But Kira had no other choice. If he didn't stop these guys, they'd destroy everyone.

* * *

On the other side of Mendel, the five Nazca-class ships had arrived unseen. Along with Zane, Yzak, Saya and Shiho, Le Creuset could see the battle unfolding in front of them.

"Well, look at what we have here." the Commander said, "The curtain's been raised on this little show."

Ades looked up from his console. "The _Eternal_, the 7th Fleet, and the 11th Fleet are definitely there, along with two other vessels, one of which happens to be the legged ship. It seems that the Earth Forces have two Agamemnon-class, but the other is unknown right now. "

Le Creuset took a look at the console and then back out the bridge's windows. "Whatever the case, until we've a better understanding of what's going on, it'll be best if we stay out of it for now." He then rose from his seat. "However, Yzak, Zane, and I will enter the colony and gather information."

Ades was taken aback. "You're personally going, sir?"

The Commander nodded. "I want the _Noin_, the _Helderton_, the _Burton_ and the _Heusinger_ to remain here. If all goes well, we can easily bring a number of matters to a close. Now, get my GuAIZ ready."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Mu suddenly felt a familiar feeling race up his spine. A feeling he hadn't felt since Alaska. And he knew exactly what the cause of it was. Creuset was here. Mu turned around and headed back towards the colony, flying past the Exia, the Buster, the Neo Blitz and the Surge.

_"Hey, Pops!"_ Dearka called out. _"Where are you going?"_

"Watch it with the Pops!" Mu warned. "There are ZAFT forces close by!"

_'Zane.'_ Chris thought as he turned and followed the Strike. _'The Commander was always going about how he always knew when Le Creuset was around. And if he's around, Zane's not too far.'_

Dearka and his teammates were bewildered by Mu's claim. They all wondered how La Flaga could actually know if ZAFT forces were nearby. However, if he was correct and a ZAFT force had followed the _Eternal_, the 7th Fleet and the 11th Fleet here, then they had to take action now before they found themselves pinned between ZAFT and the Alliance. The three pilots glanced at each other for a moment before firing their thrusters and followed after the Strike and the Exia.

The five mobile suits rushed back to the Mendel harbor, passing the _Eternal_ and the two Nazca-class vessels and deeper into the colony.

* * *

_Inside Mendel_

The Duel and two GuAIZ flew through the colony interior. Rau smirked as they traveled. Everything thing was shaping out nicely. He now had the means to supply Azrael with the data he had obtained from his contacts in Aprilius One.

Though he would slightly miss the girl…It had been a long time since he indulged in such things, and he found it amusing how she always resisted and fought. Of course, had she stop fighting, he probably would have gotten tired of her and stopped.

Rau smirked. Soon her real purpose would be fulfilled. The final door will open, and at here of all places. It was certainly poetic. Mankind's end would begin here, the place that symbolizes Mankind's desires. Mankind's greed. Mankind's true self.

Suddenly, the Strike, the Exia, the Buster, the Surge and a machine that looked like the Blitz entered the hanger.

"The Buster and the Surge! Those bastards!" Yzak shouted. "They're not gonna get away with using their machines like that!"

The Duel sped off towards the two machines in question and the Neo Blitz. Zane turned his attention to the Exia. "It's been awhile Chris. I see you got a new machine as well." Zane said, firing his beam rifle on the Exia. "But this is no GINN. You aren't gonna win this time!"

_"Bring it on Zane. Even in a new machine, you can't beat me!"_ Chris replied, firing back with his GN Vulcan.

Rau turned his attention to the Strike. Then he felt it. His smirk widened. "So you're the one piloting that machine now, Mu La Flaga."

Mu fired the Agni cannon at the GuAIZ, but Rau was too fast for him. The other man was evading the shots with ease. "Damn. I think I may have chosen the wrong armament for this." Mu said as he fired off more shots.

* * *

"Die! Die! Die!" Martin cheered, firing all of his Gatling guns at the Freedom and the Justice.

At the same time, Shani wildly fired off his plasma induction cannon. Beams and bullets filled the area. Kira, Athrun, Heero, Clotho and Orga found themselves struggling to avoid getting hit.

_"Martin! Shani!"_ an annoyed Clotho shouted as he struggled to avoid the beams.

_"What are you doing, you idiots?"_ Orga added.

The two Extended pilots paused at that moment, giving Kira, Heero, and Athrun an opening. Kira fired his twin plasma beam cannons at the Forbidden, forcing Shani to stop and deflect the beams. At the same time, Athrun drew his sabers and lunged at the Massacre. Martin instinctively pulled his beam Gatling guns up. But that's what Athrun wanted. The sabers sliced through the gun barrels. But at that moment, Martin fired his beam cannon. But Athrun pulled the Justice's head out of the path of the beam. Heero fired on the Calamity with the Twin Buster Rifle, making Orga dodge was well.

Elsewhere, the _Kusanagi_ was finally freed from the cable and headed to support the _Archangel _with its Astrays. But it wasn't the only one. Appearing out of nowhere on the Alliance battlegroups' left flank, the Farsight and the _Odin_'s GuAIZ's emerged, firing on the three Alliance warships. Behind, the _Odin_ emerged from behind an asteroid, adding its fire to battle. GuAIZs and Astrays gunned down Strike Daggers as the _Archangel_, the _Odin_ and the _Kusanagi_ fired at the Earth Forces warships.

The _Dominion_ shook as several missiles impacted its hull. "Captain! ORB and ZAFT warships and mobile suits approaching! We also have identified the three _Nazca-_class ships as being of NAZAFT! They are behind us!"

"Oh my. It's seems they've come to the _Archangel_'s rescue." Azrael commented.

The _Kusanagi_'s Gottfrieds fired at the _Dominion_. But the ship managed to evade the beams. "We're temporarily retreating! Fire the retreat signal!" Natarle ordered.

Azrael was stunned by this. "What?"

"Right now, we're at a disadvantage." Natarle explained. "We can't win if we stay for now."

"But we had them cornered!"

"Maybe. Maybe not. The Nazca-class fled as the battle started. They weren't running, they were using all the debris around the colony to mask their presence as they moved to flank us." she answered. "Plus those four machines are starting to run low on power. If we don't retreat now, we'll be destroyed."

"So you're saying, run away today to come back and win another day?" Azrael said, a smirk forming on his face.

"Are you really that eager to die?" Natarle replied.

The _Dominion_ fired its flares. The surviving Strike Daggers withdrew, returning to their ships. The Calamity, damaged from its fight with Wing Zero, and the Raider started to head back. _"Damn. I guess our time's up."_ Clotho cursed.

"Yeah. It looks that way." Orga said.

But their two other teammates were less than willing to retreat. Martin was like a berserker, swinging his beam sabers at the Freedom wildly while Shani kept on firing his cannon at the Justice. But Kira and Athrun were more than able to dodge their attacks.

Clotho and Orga pulled up alongside their unbalanced teammates. "Martin, Shani! We gotta go!" Orga called out.

_"Screw that! I'm not stopping until these punks are dead!"_ Martin cried back.

_"Yeah!"_ Shani added.

"You idiots! We have to retreat! Do you want to feel that pain again?" Orga shot back.

Both pilots scowled. They all hated loosing. But they hated the pain more. Seeing no other option, the four Biological CPUs fled, heading for the _Dominion_.

With their enemies retreating, Kira and Athrun both breathed a sigh of relief, along with many of their comrades. "Kira, Heero, are you alright?" Athrun asked as he pulled alongside the Freedom.

_"Yeah."_ Kira replied. _"But those pilots... Those pilots aren't Naturals."_

_"If they react on such strong emotions, they will die in battle."_ Heero replied. _"They cannot control their reactions. That is not normal for anyone, even them."_

* * *

_Inside Mendel_

Yzak swung the Duel's saber at the Buster, but the machine dodged the saber. Yzak swore as the three mobile suits circled him but didn't actually do anything. He was getting annoyed. It was bad enough these Naturals were piloting Dearka's and Saul's machines, but he hated this cheap copy of Nicol's Blitz even more. It was an insult to his fallen comrade's memory.

_"Yzak! Please! Stop this!"_

Yzak froze. He couldn't have heard that voice. It was impossible. "Nicol?"

_"Yes Yzak. It's me. I survived that battle and my Blitz was rebuilt."_ Nicol answered.

_"Come on Yzak."_ Dearka said. _"We don't want to fight you."_

_"Yeah Scarface. Fighting you is too much trouble."_ Saul added.

Yzak was completely stunned but all of this. So much so, that he didn't even notice Saul's comment.

* * *

_Outside Mendel_

The Justice, Wing Zero, and the Freedom arrived at the Mendel Harbor as the _Archangel_, the _Kusanagi_ and the _Odin_ entered the harbor. "How is everyone?" Kira asked.

"_We're alright. But we lose contact with Mu, Chris and the others inside the colony."_ Murrue replied. _"Mu said that ZAFT was here and they went to investigate."_

"Okay. Heero and I will go and check on them. Athrun, you stay here in case the _Dominion_ tries something." Kira said heading into the colony.

* * *

_Inside Mendel_

The Exia slowly walked in-between the abandoned buildings of the colony. Chris glanced back and forth. Zane had lured him into the buildings. No doubt he hoped that he would have the advantage on the ground. Maybe he did. Maybe he didn't.

"Where are you... Where are you hiding... There!"

The Exia spun around and fired as the crimson GuAIZ fired its beam rifle. The beam passed by the Exia's chest, missing him by a few, few feet. While Zane sidestepped the GN Vulcan rounds. _"It seems you've improved."_ Zane said.

"I could say the same for you." Chris replied.

Zane chuckled_. "I have you to thank for that. You've pushed me to my limits and beyond them. I had gotten lazy and my skills had dulled fighting nothing but pathetic Naturals."_

"What happened to you Zane? You were never like this. You always believed in the good of people!"

_"I was a fool back then. There is no good in humanity! All we do is hate, fight and kill! That is all we know how to do! That is what we are! Bigots, soldiers and killers! And soon, humanity will receive the punishment that humanity as deserved for so long!"_

"What? What the hell are you talking about?"

Zane laughed. _"You can only see the two warring sides. You can't see what lies beneath it all. You-"_

Suddenly, the Freedom and Wing Zero appeared, both firing on the GuAIZ. But Zane dove out of the way, fleeing from the area. _"Chris, are you alright?"_ Kira asked as he landed next to him.

Chris nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine."

_"Good. We can't have you being a liability on the battlefield."_ Heero replied. Chris frowned at the comment, but he also knew that it was Heero's way of asking if he was alright and confirming it.

_"Where're Mu and the others?"_

At that moment, all three glanced up. Above them, the Strike and Rau's GuAIZ battled. Rau fired, hitting the Strike's cannon, destroying it. Mu drew his knives as Rau fired his extensional arrestors at the Strike. They tore through the Strike's right arm and left side of its waist. There was a small explosion in the Strike's cockpit, sending a shard of metal into Mu's side as the Strike fell to the ground.

Rau aimed at the Strike and was about to fire when a beam tore through his rifle. He looked up, only to see the Freedom and Wing Zero. Kira fired again, blowing off the GuAIZ's head. Then, Heero drew his sabers and sliced through its legs, sending Rau's ruined machine to the ground.

Rau swore as he climbed out of his disabled machine and fled. But Mu saw this and tried to stop him. Rau fired his sidearm at him as he passed the Strike. "What do you say we put an end to this all today?" Rau said, running towards _that_ building.

"Dammit." Mu cursed, chasing after his masked rival. "What are you up to now Creuset?"

"Come with me!" Rau called back. "Come with me and I'll show where it all began and how it will end!"

Kira, Heero, and Chris watched the two men enter a large building. Seeing no other option, they grabbed their sidearms and left their machines, heading after them.

Mu slowly moved through the hallways, a hand on his bloody side. Creuset had disappeared within the numerous hallways of the building. "Do you know what this place is, Mu?" Le Creuset called out, his voice echoing throughout the building.

"Why would I, you psycho?" Mu replied.

He then squeezed off a couple of shots blindly in Rau's direction. Rau fired back, forcing Mu to duck for cover. Mu quickly moved once the firing stopped, running to a column.

"It's such a tragedy that you don't know!" Le Creuset shouted.

"Mu!" Kira shouted at that moment, distracting the two.

Before either man could react, Kira, Heero, and Chris fired at the ZAFT commander, forcing him to pull back from the small group.

"Kira, Heero, Chris, don't!" Mu warned as the three teens approached.

Rau was stunned by hearing the boy's man. Was that boy Kira Yamato? This made for an interesting twist. He already knew of the son of the Dantes' from Zane, but if Kira Yamato was indeed _that_ child, than this was going to be far more interesting. "The prodigal son returns!" he called out.

Rau's words briefly confused Kira. He couldn't think about that at the moment. He, Heero, and Chris all looked out to see if the coast was clear and rushed over to where Mu was hunkered down. The trio immediately saw the wound on their senior and friend. "Mu, you're hurt." Kira said.

"A wound like that will only slow you down, which will only hamper our chances of escape." Heero said as he looked at the wound with a serious look on his face.

"It's nothing." Mu lied. "Listen, this is our chance to get this guy once and for all. Now the three of you follow me and be careful."

The four then slowly moved out, checking every corner and hallway for any sign of Le Creuset. They knew he was close, but had no idea where and he was likely lying in wait to ambush them at any moment.

"Kira! Do you remember this place Kira?!" Le Creuset called out again, "This place is where you were born!

Kira stiffened. "What is he talking about?"

Mu glanced back over his shoulder. "Don't listen to anything he says. He's trying to play mind games with us."

"Yeah. Don't lower your guard for moment Kira." Chris added.

"And you, Mr. Dante! You were born here as well!" Rau shouted.

"Yeah right, psycho!" Chris shot back. "Play your mind games with someone else!"

Heero was confused, but also on high alert. Being trained in this sort of thing, he knew that Rau was trying to scare them.

Rau's laughter echoed through the halls. Seeing no other option, they continued on until they came to a door labeled 'HUMAN GENE MANIPULATION LAB'. Pressing the switch, it slid open and they ventured inside. They moved down a dark hallway before coming into lab's interior. All around them they found large dark cylinders lined in rows. What was eeriest about them was that the power sources were fully functioning. But why would that be if the colony had been abandoned years ago?

Moving across the catwalk, they found an even more disturbing find. In front of them was a cluster of glass tubes, each containing a dead human fetus. All of them were underdeveloped and malformed. They didn't even look human. A shutter crawled up Chris's spine. He was beyond creeped out. Though he was the son of doctors, he hated hospitals. They always made him feel creeped out. But this was much, much worse.

"What the hell is this place?" Mu muttered.

"Don't know. Don't care." Chris said. "Just want to get the hell out of here as soon as possible."

"Does any of this bring back memories, Kira?" Le Creuset mocked.

Mu twisted to the side, catching movement inside a room to the left. He rushed inside, firing his weapon. He then saw a figure and a muzzle flash. The bullet tore into his arm, the pain forcing him to drop his gun.

"Mu!" Kira shouted as he, Heero, and Chris ran in, grabbing their comrade and shoving him behind a sofa. They then quickly joined him behind it as well.

Le Creuset finally emerged from the shadows and walked towards his enemies. "I won't kill just yet, not after all the trouble I went through to bring you here."

"Cut the crap, you maniac!" Mu growled, fighting back the pain of his wounds. "We're not playing your game!"

Le Creuset remained nonchalant. "I'll give the three the full story before I finish you off." He then grabbed something and threw it at them.

It clattered to the floor and slid to a stop next to Kira. Glancing over to it, he was shocked by what he saw. It was another copy of the photo Cagalli had shown him. There was no mistaking the woman in the picture or her babies.

"And he's not the only one with secrets here." Le Creuset then tossed a folder at them.

The folder fell open as it landed, scattering the photos and the files it contained. One fluttered to the middle and it quickly caught Mu's attention. The photo was of a man carrying a small boy atop his shoulders.

"That's me." He gasped, "That's me and my dad. But why is…how…?"

But that wasn't those weren't only photos that caught someone's attention. Chris's eyes were locked onto a photo as well. The picture was of a group of men and women in white lab coats. Among them were two very familiar faces.

"Mom...Dad..."

Le Creuset sneered at Heero, almost as if he had something to hide from him as well. Heero felt chills creeping up his spine as the masked man reached into his pocket. But when his hand emerged, there was nothing in it. Heero had never felt so glad that this man did not know of his past, or where he was really from.

Le Creuset smile was cruel and he laughed in wicked delight. "I'd like to tell you all a little story." he said. "One of the full extent of mankind's insatiable desires, and of the crazed fools who followed their insane dreams. All in the name of progress..."

* * *

_New Juneau_

The NAZAFT commander looked worriedly towards the L4 location where Mendel colony was located. She hoped that everything would be alright. Commander Le Creuset had fled there, and it was not good.

If he planned something big, it was not going to be good for anyone, Natural _or_ Coordinator. She could only hope that whatever Le Creuset had planned was not brought about any time soon.

* * *

_Dominion_

Ensign Lockhart floated by the hanger where the four machines were stationed. A frown crossed her face as she recalled those four pilots. How could anyone do such a thing, turning normal human beings into only weapons and equipment, and sleep so soundly at night?

Sure enough, Director Azrael floated by him, wearing his pajamas. He looked so smug and sure of himself. So much so that he didn't even acknowledge the other Earth Forces officer beside him.

The blonde man made her growl inside as she reached for her gun, but she did not pull it out. She knew what his mission was, and it was not yet time for it to be completed.

Ensign Lockhart made her way to the medical bay, where the four pilots were being treated with medicine and other drugs. The doctors, if those madmen could be called that, were writing down notes on their status, conferring amongst themselves the conditions of the young men, whom they referred to as equipment.

It made her skin crawl, but she shook her head. She had to remain detached from everything in order to complete the mission, just like the president did in special ops all those years ago.

Making her way to her room, Ensign Lockhart opened the door and entered her space. Once the door was shut, she sat down at her computer and brought up the com-line to her contact.

_"Ah, I see you are still alive."_ She remarked with a smirk on her face.

"For the moment. It seems that the Earth Alliance considers me to just be a normal person who hates ZAFT and all Coordinators, which is fine by me as long as they don't get any more suspicious." She replied.

_"True. Still, you have only a certain amount of time to pull this off."_ Her contact reminded her.

Ensign Lockhart just sighed. "I know that. Anyway, regarding those pilots, I managed to get some data when they were brought in to the medical bay for treatment. I have their charts and everything else pertaining to their treatments all ready to send to you."

Her contact nodded. _"Very good work. It was not easy though, was it?"_

"No, it was not. I had to knock out a doctor in order to gain the charts anyway. He did not see me do it though, thankfully."

_"Just be more careful from now on."_ Her contact reminded her. _"Anyway, that data should be very helpful in the future, mainly for the reverse treatment of those pilots and others that will come after them no doubt."_

"Agreed. Still, I can't believe that the Earth Forces are going this far by now."

_"We have to be extra careful, mainly with how we act from now on. And in regards to that, I have some news on the N-Jammer Cancellers."_

Ensign Lockhart perked up. "What sort of news?"

Her contact sighed. _"The devices were flawed. They would not function for longer than ten minutes at a time. And even then, it was for only one use. We had the right idea, but we went about it the wrong way."_

"So that means we don't have the nuclear capabilities we once had. Once again, we lack an effective means of defense against the Earth Forces and an effective means of protecting the PLANTs." She sighed.

Her contact nodded. _"It would appear so. I just hope we _can_ regain our old capabilities soon. We will need them in the future if the world survives this war."_

Ensign Lockhart nodded. "I agree. Just keep me informed on the progress."

_"Will do."_

The com-line closed down. Despite the line being encrypted and linked directly with NASA, She still had to be careful. Ensign Lockhart sighed.

"When will this useless war end?"

There was no answer for the time being…

* * *

_NASA missile Silos_

The crew worked around the clock, removing the defective N-Jammer Cancellers they had developed. "Man, and just when we seemed to overcome our most debilitating loss of firepower, this had to happen!" an engineer exclaimed as he tossed out the smoking N-Jammer Canceller. It landed in a pile of other similar devices with a small _thud_.

"Just how can we get any worse than this?" the lead scientist asked as she fell back against a missile butt.

The engineer shrugged. "How am I supposed to know?"

Looking back at the stockpile, the two could see others doing the same work that they were.

"When we seem to overcome the odds, they always come back at us tenfold." A soldier muttered as he lugged by a cart of N-Jammer Cancellers. The others could not help but agree with him.

"It seems that we just can't overcome the odds like we used to." The engineer replied. "Maybe…we are losing our touch?"

The scientist smacked him upside the head. "Don't say things like that!" she shouted back. "We can't be losing our touch! We just can't! Not when the PLANTs and Earth need us!"

"I know that! I was just saying!" the man whined.

"Well don't just say that next time!" she snarled back.

Looking back at her work, the team leader returned to her duties…

* * *

_Washington D.C._

President Hilson looked out the windows of the White House, wondering how the agent was doing on his mission. Of course, he was probably fine due to his new assignment and recent graduation, yet she could not help but worry. She _was_ the country's leader after all.

"Why did you have to take on this mission?" She wondered aloud. The agent was not there to answer, but she had a good idea of what he would say if he was there. _'I can't just sit back and do nothing. I am an American, and I would gladly die for my country, not matter what the circumstances.'_

_'Of course _you_ would as well.'_ She reminded herself. It was just like her to do such a thing.

Many people would have had her kicked out of office for doing so many dangerous things, but it seemed that she was what the nation needed. A leader who was willing to do things _with_ her people, not just act as a regal official, was what made her so unique. Unlike other leaders, the president was willing to suffer _with_ her nation, not remain distant from them.

And that was just the tip of the iceberg with her. Even though she was brash and inexperienced, she had the potential to be a leader. Hell, if she had even three years of experience in Washington politics, she would be a real force to be reckoned with on the international stage. But all she had was two years as president, not the ten years that most people had.

But then again, she was also an enigma to everyone she met, just the way she liked it to be. The president knew she had politics in her blood, and yet she came from a family where there were no politicians. That was the confusing thing she wanted to have hidden. Still, who was she to argue? As long as she was effective, that was all that mattered to her.

"A leader who is not afraid to speak her thoughts in a direct manner, and is more than willing to suffer with the people instead of being so distant from them…I'm really is something else…" the president murmured as she looked at her picture located on the desk of the Oval Office.

It seemed that the people of America and NASA both were beginning to warm to her. They had heard of her exploit against the two ZAFT officers, which had really thrown the country into a shock. Still, it had shown her as merely human, not as the invincible leader that she was usually made out to be, and that was what had struck home with the citizens.

They were more than willing to follow her if she was willing to suffer with them as a people, and as an individual.

It made her smile knowing that the country would do anything to work by her side, and that she was more than willing to work with the people to make that happen.

With her in charge, there was little that they could not do…

President Hilson sighed, the toll of being in office beginning to close in on her. How the past presidents managed it, she had _no_ idea.

It was all up to those who were in power now…

* * *

_ORB refugee ship_

The Earth Forces trailed the ship, weapons aimed and primed to fire, which they were doing.

"Damn it! We signaled that we were carrying refugees! Why are they still firing on us?!" the ORB captain snarled as he looked back at the fleet following them.

"How should I know?" his vice-captain asked.

The ship could not make any more than fifteen knots, which was not enough to outrun military vessels of comparable size. They were a suitable target, even while moving.

As the ship of refugees made its way out to more hostile waters, there seemed to be no hope for them. The Earth Forces ships were more than eager to shoot and sink them, rather than let them reach safety with their Coordinator civilian cargo.

On the lead ship of the Earth Alliance fleet, the commander grinned. "Well, I think it is time to show those Orbies that they can't escape us, no matter how hard they try, don't you?"

He looked back at his second in command who had a savage grin on his face as well. "Oh, yes Captain. I believe it is time to show them indeed."

The Earth Forces fleet prepared to fire on the civilian ship that was fleeing for its life. As the guns targeted the sides and lifeboats, it seemed to be the end.

Shinn Asuka, an ORB civilian who was on the ship, looked back in shock. The captain of the civilian refugee ship also looked back, eyes wide with terror. "Oh no…"

As the ships of the EA prepared to open fire once more, a volley of shells suddenly came out of nowhere, hitting the water between the fleet and the single ship. Looking in the direction of the shell fire, the EA captain stared in shock at the massive fleet that was heading their way. Above said fleet was the famed and infamous red and white striped flag, the blue field with white fifty plus stars on it standing out against the clear blue sky.

"No way! How did _they_ know where we were?! I thought we hid our signals from them!" the EA force captain exclaimed.

"We did, but they still managed to track us down!" the vice-captain replied.

On the ORB ship, the captain looked stunned as well as relieved. "I can't believe it…Lord Uzumi called ahead for back-up…"

Shinn looked at the captain, surprise on his face. "Lord Attha…called for _them_?" he murmured as he looked back at the fleet that was now forcing the EA fleet to retreat. The stars and stripes of the flag waved proudly in the sun, making Shinn stare in awe. "Lord Attha…called NASA…"

It was a defining moment for Shinn, but also for NASA and ORB as well.

* * *

_EA Fleet_

The fleet retreated to ORB, which was now in ruins and under their control. "DAMN IT!" the commander shouted as he hit the wall of his room.

"Why did _they_ of all fleets have to show up!? Damn Lord Attha! He _really_ knows how to push our buttons!" the man snarled as he looked back at the former Attha Palace.

The fleet that had driven them off, the infamous fleet no less, just _happened_ to be the most feared fleet around, and of NASA no less! Said fleet was also the most powerful in the Pacific Ocean! "The Combined Liberation and Retaliation Squadron…he just _had_ to call _them_ and get that ORB ship to safety…"

NASA was now beginning to prove to be a real thorn in the Earth Alliance's side, and a real dagger in the side to Blue Cosmos/LOGOs no less. And it did not help that they had used one of _those_ to defend the PLANTs of all things as well!

"First NASA uses one of _those_ to defend the PLANTs, then they drive off the invasion force sent to _conquer_ them, now _this_?! They are such a NUISANCE!" the commander snarled. But the word nuisance was not really the right term to describe the alliance. They were more like an enemy, more or less.

Lord Azrael would be disappointed to hear that the Coordinator refugee ship had been escorted to safety under the feared CLRS unit, that was for sure…

* * *

_United States east coast_…

People began to clean up the remains of the Strike Daggers that were left behind by the fleeing Earth Forces. Construction crews began to clear the roads of the remains of both Traverses and Strike Daggers, the police and fire departments removing the human remains inside both.

Bodies were lining the hospitals and roads, all in body bags to prevent exposure to the sun and elements. Ambulances moved the injured to the hospitals to be treated, where doctors would treat them, even if they were Earth Alliance.

EA soldiers who were captured feared for their lives; based on what they had seen, they had very good reason to be scared, but at the same time, their fears of being killed for simply following orders were unfounded.

Upon being treated by doctors, they were more surprised to receive basic medical care than they were at being treated by Coordinators no less. In fact, the doctors who were Coordinators did not even think about harming them or even poisoning their patients, despite what they had been told by their superiors.

It was a mild shock, but a good one as well, for it showed that even Coordinators could be caring and kind, despite the stereotype for Coordinators that had been made by the Earth Forces and Blue Cosmos.

A doctor looked over the chart of a soldier from the EA who had a broken leg and severed right arm. "Well, it appears that you're stable now." He remarked. His patient looked back at him, wariness present in her eyes.

"Are you sure that you're not going to…well…you know…take advantage of me like the higher-ups say you will…?" her voice cracked at that.

The Coordinator looked back in shock and disbelief. "Is _that_ what they have been telling you? I can't believe this…" he sighed, shaking his head. "Do I _look_ like I would do such a thing?"

The soldier shook her head. "No…but that is what makes it easier, right?"

"Look, I am a doctor, first and foremost. I would _never_ _even_ _think_ about doing such a thing!" the doctor replied.

The female soldier began to relax somewhat, but she still was wary nonetheless. Her doctor just shook his head once more. Well, at least she had calmed somewhat, so it was a start.

The man went over to another patient, a male NASA soldier who had burns on his legs and arms from retrieving another EA officer, this time from the remains of a battle zone.

His female patient looked at him, wondering just how wrong her superiors were about Coordinators. The one treating her did not seem like the average Coordinator, and he _did_ say that he was a doctor first and foremost…

She shook her head, wondering if what she was thinking was correct to even assume. From what she had been told, NASA Coordinators were just like any other Coordinator, all aggressive and mean towards Naturals. The higher-ups had even said that Coordinator medical professionals took advantage of their Natural patients, but from what she had seen, that assumption was all wrong.

This Coordinator truly seemed to be dedicated to his work as a medical professional, and had no other goals in mind.

A small smile crept across her face. _'Maybe…we _can_ overcome this hatred for Coordinators one day…if NASA continues this that is…'_

People were still being brought in as police officers made their way around the hospital zones to prevent Blue Cosmos members from getting inside. Three people had attempted to do so, but were currently being detained under suspicion of being Blue Cosmos members. If their claims of being NASA Armed Forces personnel checked out though, then they would be released and treated accordingly.

Still, there was tension between the NASA forces and the captured EA soldiers. And it all came down to time to see if it would fade into history…

* * *

The _Dominion_ battles the _Archangel_ and the rest of the Terminal fleet while Chris, Kira, Mu, and Heero follow Le Creuset into Mendel colony while Yzak faces down his former teammates. What awaits now? Read on to find out! :3 Flames, AKA, hate filled/spamming reviews, **_will_** be deleted **_AND/OR_** reported depending on if they are signed or not. Anyway, read and review! ^^


	32. Phase 31: The Opening Door

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. Nor do I own Martin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: I will give Patrick a few, but Uzumi is still knocked out. Sorry. ^^'**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :)**

**A0930: Lockhart is female. Sorry. ^^' And I have actually responded to all your reviews. I am glad I can make your day! :3**

**Bvh - Inconsistently named guest:** PLEASE** use **the same** guest name! Geez... But I am glad you still like it. But I want to know **_WHAT_** you love about it, not just that you like it, even though I like hearing that as well.**

**gagasgumilang208: Glad you liked it. :3**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those with an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you are a guest without an account, **PLEASE** put **THE SAME** guest name over and over again so it is easier for me to respond to you. Thanks!**

* * *

Phase Thirty-One: The Opening Door

_Inside Mendel_

The Buster, the Surge and the Neo Blitz landed. Across from them, the Duel landed as well. All four pilots climbed out of their machines. All of them were on edge, unsure of how this would play out. Dearka, Nicol, and Saul all hoped that it wouldn't come to violence. But before any of them could say anything, Yzak drew his sidearm and aimed it at them. His three former teammates tensed up. "Whoa there. There's no need for that, Yzak." Saul said.

"You honestly think I'd be naïve enough to just talk to an enemy?" Yzak sneered.

Dearka put his hands up. "So now we're your enemy just like that?" he asked.

"The only people I see here are enemies and traitors."

The trio stiffened. "We didn't choose to become your enemy, Yzak. And we're not trying to betray the PLANTs. But..."

"Then what is it?" Yzak shouted, interrupting him. "Why are you fighting alongside the Strike? The very machine that almost killed you Nicol!"

A silence descended on the four pilots. "All of us can no longer agree with what ZAFT's doing." Nicol said, breaking the silence. "Not if it's only about senselessly killing Naturals."

* * *

_Inside the Mendel Lab_

"This place is like a forbidden temple." Rau said, gesturing to the laboratory around them. "It's the remnants of the dreams of fools thought they were gods." He then looked straight at Kira, staring into his eyes. "Did it ever occur to you that the people you called mother and father were in fact not your real parents?"

Kira shuddered. There had been times when he thought along those lines. But he always believed that it was because his parents had been Naturals and he was a Coordinator. But if they really weren't his parents…

"If you had truly known…" Rau continued. "Then perhaps you would've turned out different. You wouldn't have been so normal, without a trace of your tainted past. Even when Athrun first mentioned your name, it hadn't dawn on me that you may very well be the one. I had heard that both twins died, as along with your real father, Dr. Ulen Hibiki, you were at the top of Blue Cosmos' hit list."

"What?" Kira whispered.

"But you've survived, grown up, and plunged into this war, and still, you're alive." Rau said, "Now why do you think that is? Seeing you now, even I'm convinced that those fools were on to something. Perhaps their dream wasn't so far-fetched."

Kira's body shook more and more and raised his gun at Rau's head and thumbed back the hammer. "I'm what?" he demanded. "What is it you think I am?"

Mu grunted in pain from his wound as he saw the words of that psychopath get into Kira's head.

"You are humanity's dream." Rau sneered, "Kira Yamato, you were supposed to be the Ultimate Coordinator."

Kira froze, wondering what that statement meant.

"It was Dr. Hibiki who created the artificial womb, in the pursuit of that dream. Out of all the specimens, you were the only one to survive, even if you were only in there a short time. A great many of your siblings had to be sacrificed along the way." Rau said harshly to Kira.

Kira was overcome with shock. He dropped his gun on the ground and started to tremble as he looked to the side and stared at the glass containers. If what Le Creuset said was true? What if he had been born here? Did that mean that all these dead fetuses were his unborn brothers and sisters? He felt bile rise up his throat but he managed to suppress it before it reached his mouth. Kira slumped back slightly, utterly shocked at this outpouring of truth and realizing that all of his life had been a lie. Everything he had known had been a lie...

"Shut up!" Chris shouted, firing a couple of rounds at Creuset.

Heero also fired, barely missing the man.

Rau ducked behind a table. Chris turned to Kira. "Don't listen to this nutjob Kira! He's trying to get into your head!" he said to his confused friend, trying to shake him from his stupor.

But Creuset hasn't done yet. "And you, Christopher Dante. How many children were born dead because of your parents' work? Born deformed. Born insane? All to give birth to you…What your parents had hoped would be their greatest success. That those lives lost would count for something." the masked man said, poking his head up from the table. "Instead, you were they're greatest failure! A failure that shattered their dreams completely! Frankly, I'm surprised they didn't kill a pathetic failure like you after you were born!"

"I said, shut the hell up!" Chris screamed, firing at Creuset again. "I've had it up to here with your lies! I'm not falling for any of your mind games!"

Rau pulled his head back down. "All I've told you is the truth." he smugly replied.

"Then where's the proof?" Chris shouted back. "All you've shown us is some photos! They could have come from anywhere! They aren't enough to back up your claims!"

"Take a look on your left then." Rau replied.

Against his better judgment, Chris turned to his left. There were several doors along the wall. The doors all had names written on them. They were offices. His eyes scanned the names until he came across one door. His body froze as his eyes locked onto the words written on that door...

DR. DAVID AND CLAIRE DANTE

His parents' names. He had tried to deny Rau's claims. Passing it off as Creuset's demented mind games. But he couldn't deny it anymore.

But it didn't make sense. His parents were doctors. They cared for the sick, healed the injured. They strove to save lives. They wouldn't work in this insane place. Not the mother and father he knew. They would never be a part of this insanity.

Suddenly, Rau rose up and fired another round. Mu leaped up and pulled both teens down to the ground while Heero dove to the ground on reflex. Quickly, rising back up after that, Mu fired two rounds at Rau, who quickly retreated into an empty corridor. Chris mentally cursed himself for getting distracted in the middle of a gun fight. Heero was no doubt disappointed in him. Now wasn't the time for this. He had to deal with this later. Mu glanced at him. Chris waved him off. "I'll be fine. We need to stop him."

Mu nodded and turned to Kira. He was in worse shape, at least mentally. Kira looked stunned and horrified. Like a soldier suffering from shellshock. "Come on kid, don't take his nonsense serious even for one second. He doesn't know what he's talking about." Mu said, trying to comfort him.

This seemed to knock Kira at least partially out of his dazed. He weakly nodded. And the four of them chased after Creuset.

* * *

_The Archangel_

_Inside the Mendel Harbor_

Back at the harbor, repair work on the _Archangel_ was completed and now everyone stood around, waiting anxiously. They waited for the _Dominion_ and its escorts to make another move or for the newly-discovered ZAFT forces on the other side of the colony to move, and most importantly, for any word on the missing members of their group inside the colony.

"There are five _Nazca_-class vessels behind us?" Murrue asked.

_"Aye."_ John replied from his cockpit. _"Hilda's group just came back with the confirmation. This is going to be a problem for us."_

_"Indeed it will."_ Andrew said. _"At the moment, we're missing a good chuck of our mobile suit strength. While I'm confident that we could stand a chance against the ZAFT forces and most of the Earth forces here, I'm not sure how we'll fair against both forces at the same time. And, I'm not sure how we'll be able to fair against those four without Kira or Heero."_

John nodded_. "Yes. At best, we'll be able fight to a stalemate."_ He sighed before continuing, _"Those four are unlike any pilots I've encountered before. They're as good as any ZAFT aces. But they're wild and reckless. And those machines of theirs are very powerful. We have to hope the Kira and the others return before either group moves in."_

* * *

_The Eternal_

Athrun felt the most anxious of everyone. He thought that Kira would've at least contacted them by now. He couldn't take it anymore. He had to act. "I'm going to go looking for them." he said, powering up the Justice.

Suddenly, Lacus appeared on the screen before him. "I cannot permit that." she said. "Please remain on standby for the time being."

"Lacus. We're facing a situation with seven of our pilots and mobile suits missing. You can't expect me to just sit here and do nothing, can you?"

"That is the very reason you must stay here." She replied. "We cannot afford to reduce our numbers any further. The ZAFT forces are nearby and we don't know when the Earth Forces will attack again. No matter what, we must press on, even if Kira, Heero, Chris, and the others don't make it back."

Athrun felt powerless. She was right of course. They couldn't spare anyone at the moment. If the _Dominion_ and those four attacked again or if the ZAFT forces attacked, he'd be needed here. All he could do was hope that everyone would return safely.

* * *

_Inside the Mendel Lab_

Down in a deeper level of the lab, Mu, Chris, Heero, and Kira slowly moved through the lab. Mu's injuries were starting to affect him more severely. While his adrenaline rush numbed most of the pain, he knew he needed to get medical attention soon or he'd be in trouble. But before that, he had to kill Rau. The four entered a room filled with bottles and vials of medical supplies and medication. Mu and Kira took cover behind a lab table while Chris crouched behind a pile of debris and a fallen cabinet on the other side of the room. Heero was against the wall, trying to hide behind the door frame.

Out of the dim light of the room, the sound of descending footsteps echoed. Mu peered out to see a shape proceeding down the staircase. Rau reloaded his pistol and twisted his head, searching for his adversaries. "My fellow humans, I'm now revealing a secret I have kept from you all.'" He called out in a mocking tone, speaking the words of the late George Glenn. "I did not come into the world through natural birth. My genes were artificially operated on during the early embryonic stage."

He stopped. "Those were the words of George Glenn, humanity's very first Coordinator." he said, pressed a button on a wall panel.

A series of lights came on, illuminating a medicine cabinet of sorts. "Little did he realize what chaos was to follow after his announcement…He set a wave of avarice into motion unlike anything before! So many parents wanted their dream children, choosing traits that fulfilled their own desires. It was as they were special ordering of some catalog." he said, his voice filled with disgust. "People paid a great price for their dream, but not everything goes as planned. Babies that weren't miscarried were born with traits different than what their parents wanted. No one wants to see their hopes and dreams destroyed! That's what drove them on!"

Rau reached the bottom of the stairs. They were close. He could feel it. "And what did people gain from this? What did they get? What was the result of their dreams?"

Kira was mortified by all of this. Again, Kira found himself lost in thoughts of what he was exactly, while Chris and Mu had both had enough of his mind games and rants, Heero included. "Shut up!" Chris shouted, standing up and firing wildly at the man.

Rau dodged every shot and fired a single shot. The well-aimed bullet struck his sidearm, sending it flying. He quickly dove back behind the debris. "And your parents were no better." Rau said, aiming at Chris. "They sought to advance humanity up the next step of the evolutionary ladder, to create a new, better breed of man. Not Natural. Not Coordinator, but something greater. They used the method for creating Coordinators as the base of their experiments to create this new human. But in the end, dozens of children were dead or suffered psychical and mental deformities! How many children suffered and died to give birth to you! How many died to give birth to a failure! Children like my...my..." Rau paused for moment, seemingly lost in thought. He shook his head before continuing. "Tell me, is there anything you'd like for me to pass onto Miss Allster before I do what should have been done years ago?"

"What?" Chris quietly said. "How-"

"She talks in her sleep. And she's wearing some dog tag with the name of your grandfather if I'm not mistaken." Rau said, a sickening grin spreading across his face.

Chris's eyes widened as his face turned to a stunned expression for a second before turning to an expression of rage. "You bastard!" Chris roared as he jumped over his makeshift cover, racing for Creuset.

But Creuset didn't shoot him. He just stood there as Chris ran towards him. Just as Chris was about to reach him, Rau struck, driving his right foot into Chris's stomach. Chris stumbled back only to receive a punch to his face. He fell to the ground. Chris looked up. Rau was standing over him, his gun pointed at his head.

"No you don't!" Mu shouted, moving from his cover, firing at Rau.

But Rau seemed to predict his move and was already running for cover before Mu squeezed the trigger. Rau reached the corner of a wall while Chris dove for cover, cover fire provided by Heero. "They thirsted for knowledge! They sought to fulfill their desires! And ultimately, they forgot why they were doing it! Even when they proclaimed their reverence for human life, they toyed with it, and they destroyed it!" He shouted, more to the heavens rather than his three enemies. "No matter what knowledge humans obtain, they never learn anything! They become envious of each other! Hate each other! Destroy each other!" Rau continued to rant as he began to fire wildly at them, destroying monitors and vials of medicine. "If that's what they truly desire, why don't they simply exterminate each other?"

"What give you the right to sound so superior?" Mu shouted back in anger as he fired in Rau's direction.

His last bullet missed Rau's ear by a mere inch. But he ignored it and continued to fire until his clip ran dry. As the clip slid out of Rau's empty pistol, he screamed with a twisted smile, "I am the only one who's earned that right! In the entire universe, only I have the right to judge humanity!"

Mu spat at the raving man. "Cut the crap, you maniac! You don't really expect us to believe that?"

Rau laughed. "I'm surprised you don't remember. We've met once before, Mu, long ago before we ever met on the battlefield."

Something about that line sparked a pair of long forgotten memories in Mu's mind. He was ten at the time. It was a few months before his parents' deaths. A maid had been fixing his tie when he met a boy his age, a boy with blue eyes and blond hair like him. And he looked almost like him. In fact, they easily could have been mistake for brothers. The boy didn't say anything. He just stared at him for a few moments before walking away. He remembered how unsettled he had been by the silent boy and his empty, soulless gaze.

The other was a few years before that one. He had been walking past his father's office. The door was open slightly and he could hear his father talking to a servant. "He will be my heir. Not that woman's child. Make sure you keep a close eye on him and educate him well. Whatever you do, don't make him into another weakling." his father said.

Mu was dumbfounded. Why had these memories suddenly come back?

Rau's demeanor turned even more demented as he continued. "I am he! That arrogant fool...who thought he could thwart Death itself with his money! Al Da Flaga, your father! But I am merely that man's defective clone!"

"What?" a stunned Mu said.

Heero could hardly believe what he was hearing. Ultimate Coordinators, a new type of being, clones! It was all too much to believe and yet he believed it as there was ample proof all around him.

But the shock quickly wore off. "A clone? You expect anyone to believe that fairy tale?"

"I don't want to believe it either." Rau replied. "Unfortunately, it's true!"

Rau slapped his final clip into his handgun and slowly moved out of his cover. "The final door is about to open! And I'm the one opening it! Then the world that we know will come to an end, this world of insatiable desires will end!" Rau said, approaching Mu's position behind the corner while Mu himself continued to breathe heavily.

Neither man realized that Kira was on the move. Grabbing a piece of debris and rushing towards the two adults.

"And then the conceited fools who struggle within it will finally have their wish come true!" Rau shouted maniacally as he raised his gun in Mu's direction, thumbing back the hammer.

"No, it won't happen! I won't let it!" Kira yelled as he threw the chuck of metal at Rau as he fired at the boy.

Rau emptied his clip. But none of the shots hit Kira. While the piece of metal that Kira threw hit Rau's mask dead on. The mask fell off, revealing Creuset's face to the four. Mu, Kira, Heero, and Chris all gasped as they saw his face. It was identical to the face of Mu's father.

"Ha! Do you think you can change what's going to happen!" Rau said, ignoring the loss of his mask. "Nobody can do anything about it! For the world full of hatred is engulfing the universe!"

Suddenly, Rau ran off as Mu attempted to chase after him. However, due to the loss of blood of his injury, he stumbled and fell down. Kira, Heero, and Chris rushed over to him. "We need to get out of here. Can you stand?" Kira asked as the three of them helped him up.

Mu nodded. "Yeah. I can stand. We have to get out of here."

The three pilots headed for the exit. But Kira stopped to gather the entire collection of photos. They then slowly made their way outside, where their mobile suits were waiting.

* * *

_The Dominion_

_Near Mendel_

Back within the debris field just outside of Mendel's perimeter, the _Dominion_ and its escorts made final preparations for reengagement. However, Natarle was still nervous about the situation. The nearby _Nazca_-class ships had yet to make a move, and that worried her the most. "We'll be at a disadvantage if we make the first move." She said. "I cannot guarantee success."

"It's easy to say something is impossible." Azrael replied. "It's another to actually make it happen. That's how it is in the business world."

"This is war." Natarle sharply countered, "Failure means death."

"The stakes are the same in the business world." the Blue Cosmos leader said with a smug grin. "Is it that you're someone who'll only fight battles you know you can win?"

Natarle clenched her fists, but didn't say anything. Azrael took notice. "That's fine by me. I mean, no one wants to waste anything on a lost cause. But we can't keep sitting here forever, can we? Not if we want the prize."

* * *

The four Extendeds were almost ready to move out. Each took the vial of Gamma Glipheptin they were given. They wanted to finally defeat those mobile suits that they just couldn't seem to beat.

"You think we'll be in trouble again if we fail?" Shani asked.

"Probably." Clotho grunted. "That bastard doesn't give a damn about us. He only cares about us making him look good."

"Doesn't matter." Orga said with a smirk. "As long as we get to crush those three machines."

Martin dropped his empty vial on the ground. "I don't care about him. I want to tear those bastards apart so I can find him!" he said, crushing the empty vial under his foot.

His teammates nodded in agreement before they headed to their machines.

A short while later, the four Extendeds were prepped and ready to attack once more. As they took point, the remaining Strike Daggers from the three Alliance warships followed close behind.

* * *

Ensign Lockhart looked out her room window before she turned to her computer screen. Once again, she was connected to her contact.

_"So, the Earth Forces are engaged with the Three Ships Alliance?"_ her contact asked.

"Yes, they are. So far it appears to be a draw, but that could change at any moment." She replied. "And given the circumstances, I don't expect it not to."

Her contact nodded. _"I see. Are you sure you can do it now?"_

"No. Not yet. It is in the middle of battle, and that would only make things worse." Ensign Lockhart explained. "If I were to take him out now, the battle would only go downhill from there."

Her contact closed her eyes and sighed. _"You know the longer it is put off, the harder it will be to conceal it from the public and the world."_

"Yes, I know. But in this case, we have no choice _but_ to hold off for the moment." Ensign Lockhart pointed out. "Besides, I can actually gather data on his methods of battle planning. That will be useful since a lot of Blue Cosmos members are also in the business world."

_"It will be useful, but only for a select few. The other members will not follow by the data that you are currently gathering."_ Her contact rebutted.

"That may be true, but those that are in the business world are often the higher-ups. That is a fact from the data and investigations carried out by NASA." Ensign Lockhart replied.

_"Still, it is best to be wary and on high alert. If Azrael shows any signs of having figured out that there is a threat to his life, or if he shows signs of having found you out, leave right away."_ Her contact reminded her.

"I will." With that, the line closed, and Ensign Lockhart flopped back onto her bed.

* * *

_Washington D.C._

President Hilson looked out the windows at the dark sky above the White House. She could see the points that were the PLANTs and the other, older colonies that were no longer in use. The ships could not be seen, but she knew that they were up there as well.

Deep down, she hoped that the war would come to an end soon; otherwise, it would be the end of the Coordinators and/or Naturals. Only one side could win, and each side was determined to wipe the other out.

Still, the president knew that war did not have just two sides. The other side involved was them, NASA itself. If NASA could end the war, then the other combatants would have to surrender to them. And yet it was also a long shot that seemed to be impossible.

The woman sighed. Just what it would take to end the war, she had no idea.

* * *

_NASA missile silos_

As Defense Secretary Keller made his way through one of the old silos, he could see men and women working on the missiles to try and make them work despite the N-Jammers being in effect. And yet that endeavor was already failing.

It was hard enough to overcome those things, yet the fact that all of the previous attempts had failed made it all the more bitter for those involved. Defense Secretary Keller walked over to an old missile that was still open and the device beside it.

"So the N-Jammer Cancellers we made failed?" he asked.

"Yes, sir." An engineer replied as she looked at him. "They failed ten minutes into being installed. The warheads were unable to accept the power source and failed to blow when we launched one into space. Thankfully that one was retrieved before anyone saw it."

"So the new engines worked, but the warheads didn't." Keller mused as he looked over the missile butt. Inside was a nuclear fusion reactor, allowing greater distances to be covered with less fuel used.

"It would appear so, sir." She replied. Keller looked back at the missile warhead that was still opened. "We need to find a reliable N-Jammer Canceller soon, otherwise the Earth Forces will attack the PLANTs again, and this time without much hesitation. If we have these things still operable however, then they will think twice before doing so."

The older man just nodded in agreement. "It's the physics of the N-Jammer that make it so hard to overcome. And even if we could do so, the Cancellers would have to be of a caliber that we cannot reach yet using current EA-produced tech."

"That means we would have to build them ourselves." The engineer realized. "And if we do that, then Blue Cosmos/LOGOs would have to come to _us_ for the Cancellers. And if they have to come to us, we could deny them the tech, forcing them to forgo attacking the PLANTs!"

Her superior was stunned, but also knew what she meant. "Yes, it would appear so…"

The mere idea of building the Cancellers themselves appeared to be the most appealing, but throwing in the idea of denying Blue Cosmos/LOGOs the Cancellers made it all the more intriguing to him. Keller then realized that this would be the perfect way to extract revenge on the terrorist group for all the pain they had put the Coordinators through. Producing the very tech that they needed to launch nuclear attacks on the PLANTs once again, only to have them turned down just for merely existing was too perfect to pass up!

A grin crossed his face, the idea beginning to take hold in his mind. It was just perfect! "Let the Pentagon know about the idea at once. Then email the Congress as well. This we _cannot_ pass up!"

The engineer realized what he was getting at and saluted. "Yes, sir!"

* * *

_Washington D.C._

The military personnel of the big pentagonal-shaped building, the Pentagon, ran around, contacting all defense contractors and builders they could, alerting them of the plan that would take effect once N-Jammer Cancellers were able to be produced. Many of the military personnel were more than pleased with the idea, as it seemed to be perfect. Denying Blue Cosmos/LOGOs the N-Jammer Canceller tech just because they existed, what better way than that to attain perfect revenge?

The military brass also agreed, fully aware of what the Earth Forces did just to please the group. Hurting Coordinators and killing them for reasons that were only imagined, taking their families away from them just because they were not born in a normal manner, it was all too much for even NASA's top military officers and combat veterans. So the idea for revenge made it all the more appealing to them.

In the Capitol building, the members of both the House of Representatives and Senate agreed to the plan as well, although there were people who disagreed with it. Still, a majority agreed that Blue Cosmos/LOGOs could not be trusted with the N-Jammer Canceller tech once it was produced. If anything, they would nuke the PLANTs again, forcing NASA to use yet another one of their most powerful missiles, and that they wanted to avoid at all costs.

Politicians murmured and debated the idea, but most agreed that it was for the best. Aware of what Blue Cosmos/LOGOs did to their own Coordinator citizens while abroad, the idea seemed to be the best way of saying that what they did was wrong. If the group was denied the tech, then it would show the rest of the world that Blue Cosmos/LOGOs was not all powerful and controlling.

Defending the PLANTs would be no trouble once the N-Jammer Cancellers were modified and reproduced. Of course, it all came down to _how long_ it would take NASA to redo the concept of the N-Jammer Canceller and the design as well. And that in itself was hard enough to figure out. Still, they had to try, and it was not going to be easy…

Looking back at the massive flag that was within the chambers themselves, the leaders of the nation knew that they had the ability to overcome the challenge. But it all came down to how it was done and how long it actually took.

And it all began with the research into what went wrong with the previous N-Jammer Cancellers.

* * *

_Great Lakes Naval Base_

The base was abuzz with activity as researchers and engineers ran around, trying to analyze the N-Jammer Cancellers that were now pulled from production. Several of the devices lay on the ground in bunches/piles of up to thirty each.

"Do you know what went wrong with the old N-Jammer Cancellers?" an engineer asked a researcher. She shook her head.

"No, we have no idea other than the parts we used were old and defunct. Not to mention the mineral used was not that effective at blocking the N-Jammer radiation." She replied.

The older man shook his head in aggravation. "So, the right mineral and materials continue to elude us…"

The researcher just looked down, disappointed that her words did little to ease the frustration that everyone was feeling at the moment.

"Maybe…we can try something new?" she suggested.

Her boss shook his head. "No. We can't. We just don't have the materials or the resources the Earth Forces and ZAFT have. We _need_ those missiles if we are to have _any_ way of _defending ourselves _as well as the PLANTs!" he reminded her.

The researcher fell back into her chair out of frustration. "Damn it! Of all the things the PLANTs could have done, they _just had to_ drop those fucking N-Jammers _into_ the Earth and cause the April Fools Crisis!" she snarled.

The chief engineer growled at her use of language, but given the circumstances, he could not fault her for feeling so angry and frustrated. So he decided to let it slide for now.

"Defeating the Earth Forces will not come so easily, and they know that. That is why they were so willing to risk an invasion. They are aware that we are weaker than before and that we lack nuclear weapons capabilities, and so they tried to attack us with force. They know we don't have those missiles, so that is why they are so willing to be up front with us and fight us in such ways. We _NEED_ those missiles if we are to have a chance against them. If we can retaliate with a nuclear assault, then they will back off from both us _AND_ the PLANTs." A soldier replied as he walked by with another warhead.

Everyone there knew that he was right. In light of recent events, the FBI and CIA had found intelligence that mentioned another potential attack on NASA soil. And of course, the ones who had the data were the Earth Forces.

"Defending our home is one thing, but having the ability to wipe out other cities is quite another. And if we have such a capability, the Earth Forces, or Blue Cosmos/LOGOs to be honest, will be less willing to mess with us." The researcher remarked as she sat up. "That is why we need to regain the capacity we lost: the capacity to wage nuclear war."

Everyone there agreed with her. And they knew that they had only a limited amount of time before another attack could be waged on the PLANTs again…

* * *

_Archangel's Bridge_

Suddenly, Sai's console flashed red. "Captain, they're coming back!" he shouted.

Dread hit hard for everyone. With a chuck of their mobile suit forces missing, including two of their most powerful machines, it wouldn't be easy to fight on equal footing.

"The _Dominion_ is closing in with the two Agamemnon-class warships behind it." Miriallia reported. "Distance 50, Green, Bravo.

"All hands, level one battle stations!" Murrue ordered. "Prepare to move out!"

* * *

_The Vesalius_

_The Other Side of Mendel_

The ZAFT forces were in a state of confusion. There had been no contact with the Commander, Zane or Yzak for quite some time. Ades, Shiho and Saya stood on the bridge, waiting. "Captain Ades, the Earth Forces ships are reengaging the rogue vessels again!" a controller shouted.

Ades cursed under his breath. "Where is the Commander?" he muttered. "What could be happening inside that colony?"

"Should we go and check on them?" Saya asked.

"No. Not yet." the captain replied. "The Commander told us to wait here for them. And for now, we will wait for them."

* * *

_Inside Mendel_

Dearka, Nicol, and Saul had taken turns explaining some of the recent transgressions involved with their defection. Things were tense with Yzak still aiming his gun at them. They liked to believe that he wouldn't pull the trigger. But it was a dicey situation at best.

"So you're saying that's why Commander Waltfeld and the 11th Fleet joined Lacus Clyne?" Yzak asked. "And the same goes for Athrun as well? And the 7th Fleet, they joined NAZAFT?"

The three ZAFT pilots nodded.

"But why?" Yzak demanded. "What justifies this treason?"

"I've learned some things." Dearka explained. "We all have. The Freedom's pilot is the same guy who piloted the Strike. He's a Coordinator. And it turns out that he and Athrun have been friends since they were kids."

Yzak was surprised. Was that why Athrun had hesitated during their earlier battles with the Strike? "What are you saying?"

Nicol sighed. "I'm not quite as devoted to the cause as the others. I just wanted to protect the PLANTs. But at this point, I simply can't go with ZAFT's methods anymore."

"Nicol, that's enough!" Yzak shouted.

"He's not the only one." Saul added. "I never really wanted to be in the military. I was forced into it by my family. Even with the war, I still didn't desire to be a soldier. But ever since ORB, I've felt like what I'm doing has a real meaning. A real purpose. For the first time, I've felt like I should be a soldier."

"Even Akira defected, and to the United States Armed Forces no less!" Nicol shouted back at Yzak.

"But that's treason!"

"Think about it Yzak! What is ZAFT even fighting for now?" Dearka said. "Alaska, Panama, ORB, _NASA_, this war is getting worse by the day! And for what?"

Yzak couldn't come up with an answer. It didn't make sense. Just then, the entire colony shook heavily.

_"Yzak! Zane! Are you there?_" Le Creuset's voice came from Yzak's wrist comlink, _"We're leaving at once."_ With that, the channel went silent.

Dearka, Nicol and Saul turned and headed back towards their machines. Yzak raised his guns at their backs. Nicol glanced back. "If you think we're your enemies now, then go ahead and shoot us."

Yzak couldn't stand it. Someone had gotten into their heads, filling them with strange ideas. "You're being deceived!" he shouted, half-pleading.

Dearka glimpsed over his shoulder. "I wonder which one of us is really being deceived. None of us have anything else to say. We're going now. I speak for all of us when I say that given the choice, we'd rather not fight you."

They climbed into their machines, powered them up and took off, leaving Yzak behind, confused and alone.

* * *

_"Yzak! Zane! Are you there? We're leaving at once."_ Creuset said over the comm.

Zane sat in the cockpit of his GuAIZ, near the building Rau, Chris and the others entered. He could have taken a shot at Chris as he left the Exia. But that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to defeat Chris in combat. Picking him off when he was defenseless like that was meaningless. He wanted to prove he was superior to him regardless of the mobile suit.

Creuset rushed out of the building, towards his crippled GuAIZ. Zane came out of his hiding space as the Commander entered the cockpit. _"Zane, take me back to the Vesalius, now."_ he said, his voice becoming strained.

"Yes sir." he said, scooping up the headless and legless torso.

At that moment, the Duel appeared. "Yzak, I have the Commander. We're heading back."

_"Right."_ Yzak responded before the two took off.

* * *

_Outside Mendel_

As the _Archangel_, the _Kusanagi_, the _Eternal_, and six Nazca-class ships launched, Athrun took the lead, flanked by the Dynames, the Wing, the Diver, the Z.A.M. Gundam, and several Astrays. "You all hang back and protect the ships." he ordered.

_"Roger that."_ Asagi replied as the Astrays pulled back.

_"Are you kidding? Those four will tear you apart if you go it alone."_ Liz argued.

_"Yeah. But your brother would kick his ass if something happened to you."_ John said as the Farsight launched from the _Odin_.

_"He doesn't need to treat me like a baby."_ Liz said with a scowl.

_"He's your older brother. He's supposed to worry about you."_ John replied as he pulled along the two mobile suits. "_You and Tao lead the Astrays in the defense of the ships. I'll help Athrun out with those four punks."_

_"Hey, don't forget about us!"_ Aki' exclaimed as he flew up alongside as well.

_"Leave one for me as well."_ Nisha added as he flew up.

"Fine."

The Dynames and Diver pulled back as the Justice, the Wing, the Z.A.M. Gundam, and the Farsight rushed forward, ready to engage the closest enemies.

Orga grinned. "Hey, there they are."

_"That white one's missing."_ Clotho commented.

_"Then we'll just have to capture those others."_ Orga replied.

Martin growled at the sight of the Farsight. _"That one. He's a tricky coward. He's mine."_

Charging forward, the two sides clashed. The Raider, the Forbidden, and the Calamity circled the Justice, the Wing, and the Z.A.M. Gundam like a pack of sharks circling their prey, while the Massacre fired its missiles at the Farsight.

* * *

Aboard the _Eternal_, Lacus watched and wished that there was more her ship could do to support the forward units. "Can we use the METEOR?" she asked, hoping they were ready.

DaCosta turned his head "Negative, the unit is still charging."

Lacus tensed, knowing that Athrun would have to make due with just the Justice.

On the _Archangel_, Murrue had to make a snap decision for the ship's next move. "We'll use the debris for cover." she ordered. "What about the ZAFT forces?"

"They still haven't moved." Sai answered.

"Captain, it's the Freedom!" Miriallia shouted. "No, it's everyone! They're coming back!"

Murrue was relieved. "Alert the hanger crews. Tell them to do a rush resupply job on the machines that need it now!" she ordered.

Kira opened a channel to the ship. _"We're all here but Mu's been wounded."_

Murrue gasped when she saw the damaged Strike being pulled along by the Freedom. The seven machines landed in the hanger. Kira quickly secured the Strike before heading out again with Heero and Chris behind him, while the Surge, the Neo Blitz, and the Buster secured themselves and powered down as the crews quickly connected their power cables so they could recharge their batteries.

* * *

Athrun threw his beam boomerangs at the Raider. The machine dodged the boomerangs and their rebound. Suddenly, the Raider fired its railgun at the Justice. Athrun panted as he frantically dodged the wild, undirected slugs.

Aki' flew at the Calamity, forcing the pilot to dodge the wing-blades before they cut him in half.

_"Shani! Watch it!"_ Clotho shouted at his teammate. _"We have to capture these guys! Remember!"_

_"I know that!"_ Shani yelled back. _"That's what I'm trying to do!"_

"Knock it off!" Orga said, firing at the Wing. "We have a job to do!"

Both pilots grumbled and focused on their opponents again. The Raider's hammer flew at him. Athrun ducked under it, only to have the Raider bring its handle down on his head. Athrun pulled up his shield, blocking the hit. He pushed the Raider back.

Nisha blocked the massive assault of energy beams with the Z.A.M. Gundam's shield, letting loose the missiles as soon as there was an opening. The Forbidden was impacted by the warheads, making Shani cry out as his machine was hit.

Elsewhere, the Farsight dove behind a piece of debris as the Massacre fired wildly at him. "Quit hiding!" Martin giggled. "Fight me like a man!"

He was getting annoyed. The machine had pulled away from the red one and deeper in the debris field. The coward was constantly moving in and out of the debris, hiding like a rat.

"Why should I fight like a man when my opponent is little more than an animal?" John asked, firing from behind a large chuck of metal.

The Massacre sidestepped and fired back with his Gatling guns. But the Farsight was already gone. Martin howled in frustration. "Damn you! Quit hiding rat!"

Suddenly, a barrage of beams struck the Massacre. The missile pods on its right leg were blown. The left Gatling gun exploded. And the Ragnarok beam cannon was destroyed. "What?"

The Freedom appeared with the Exia and Wing Zero behind it. _"Mr. Alaric, are you alright?"_ Kira asked.

"I'm fine. Athrun's one of those that needs help. The other three are fighting him, Aki', and Nisha right now." John replied, leaving his hiding spot.

_"Alright. We'll help them."_ Kira said as he took off. _"But be careful."_

"Don't worry. This feral dog will never be able to catch a flying hawk. No matter how hard they try." John said turning to the Massacre.

* * *

_The Vesalius_

_The Other Side of Mendel_

Flay was startled by the sound of the opening door. She stood back as Rau rushed in and over to his desk. He was panting and groaning and moaning in pain. He opened the drawer, pulled out the bottle of pills and swallowed down a handful. He then pulled out a spare mask and put it on. Flay cautiously approached the quivering man, unsure of what would happen next.

Rau slowly recovered enough to where his body had stopped shaking. He pressed down on the intercom. "Ades! Have our forces move out now! Send out every mobile suit we have; the same goes for the _Nion_, the _Burton_, the _Heusinger_ and the _Helderton_!"

_"Commander?"_

"Just do it!" Rau shouted. "We didn't come out here to just sit back and watch! I'll be going out again as well, so have my CGUE ready!" With that command, he turned off the intercom. He let out a shuddering gasp, his breathing labored. He turned to Flay, predatory grin returning. "And I'll need your help too, my dear."

Flay took a step away, frightened for her safety and the safety of her unborn child. She placed a hand on her abdomen. Rau didn't seem to notice it. If he did, he didn't care. He took out a familiar disk and held it out to Flay. "Please deliver this for me. If this key is brought to the Earth Forces, then this terrible war can come to an end."

Flay looked up, surprised. Slowly, she accepted the disk. She could only guess what sort of information it contained. "If I do this, the war will be over?" she said, more to herself than to Creuset.

This war had already taken her father. She desperately wanted it to end before it claimed Chris's life. She didn't want her child to grow up without a father. Like how she had with her mother. If this would end the war, than she would deliver it.

"Yes. Now let's get you ready." Rau answered, taking her by the hand.

A short while later Flay was in a locker room, putting on a spacesuit. Once she was suited up, two ZAFT soldiers took her to an escape pod and motioned for her to go inside. She climbed in, strapping herself into the seat. As she did so, a ZAFT officer handed her a USB drive. Flay looked at in questioningly. "Just get that to NASA." The officer whispered to her. She nodded. After the hatch was sealed, one of the soldiers turned to the other. "Any idea what the Commander has in mind?"

The second, the one who had spoken to her, only shrugged. "Who knows? But he must have some plan for her."

The pair left, leaving her alone in the pod. Flay clutched the disk and USB in her hands. She kept telling herself that she just had to take it and pass it along to the Earth Forces. And then, the war would finally be over.

* * *

_The Dominion_

"The six Nazca-class ships are moving towards us!" the radar operator shouted as the ship shuttered from a barrage from the _Archangel_.

Natarle froze. Had the ZAFT forces waited for her group to engage the _Archangel_ and its allies so that they could attack while they were in the middle fighting each other?

"They're hailing us!" the comm officer said.

"What?" a stunned Natarle said.

This was a move that she had never expected.

_"Attention, Earth Forces."_ the voice of the ZAFT Commander said. _"Before we engage, I'd like to take this time to return a prisoner to you."_

Both Natarle and Azrael exchanged confused looks. What was the enemy doing? What prisoner were they talking about?

The _Archangel_ and _Dominion_ kept at their closely matched battle. Almost every move was countered and then any counter was met with yet another maneuver. As was the battles between their allied ships. Even the various mobile suits of the two respective groups had no clear advantage against over the other. Murrue gritted her teeth as she tried to think of something to try and deal a critical blow to Natarle and her ship. Of course, she did notice the other ship seemed to be lagging at the moment.

"Captain, the ZAFT Nazca-class ships are moving in!" Chandra called out.

Murrue and most of the bridge crew gasped. If the ZAFT forces were making their move now, there was the chance that the _Archangel_ and the other ships would be boxed into a pincer attack with no way of escape.

"All mobile suits! Form up around the ships! We need to punch out of here now before we're pinned between ZAFT and the Alliance!" Samuel ordered.

* * *

_The Vesalius_

Yzak waited for his turn to launch again. Zane was in front of him, in his GuAIZ and the Commander in his CGUE. Behind him, Shiho sat in her CGUE DEEP Arms and Saya in her purple GuAIZ. As he sat, Yzak thought about what had happened with him and his former teammates. What had Dearka meant when he said, "I wonder which one of us is really being deceived?" Was there something happening within the ranks of ZAFT that he couldn't see? He had never worried about politics before; he had only focused on fighting and winning battles. Like any good soldier should. But now he was beginning to wonder.

_"Yzak? Yzak!"_

Yzak was brought back to reality when he heard Shiho.

Her face appeared on the screen. _"Is there something wrong Yzak?"_

He hesitated. "No." he lied as the Commander launched, followed by Zane. "Nothing's wrong."

_"Remember, we are to concentrate on the_ Eternal _and the rest of the traitors. The_ Burton _and the_ Nion _will focus on the other ships."_ Creuset reminded them.

Yzak stepped onto the mobile suit catapult and then launched into the battlefield. Once the last of the ZAFT mobile suits launched, Rau opened a channel to the _Vesalius_. He had taken the first step in his plan, now all he needed was to ensure that everything went the way he wanted. "Ades, send out the pod."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Flay felt the pod shake for a brief moment as it was launched into space. She closed her eyes and silently prayed for her safety, the safety of her child, and that the war would soon end as the pod headed for the ongoing battle.

* * *

_Dominion_

Ensign Lockhart could only stare in disgust at what ZAFT was doing before she looked back at the radar. The mere sight of what was happening made her want to punch out the console; ZAFT was launching an escape pod into the middle of a battle with a prisoner on board.

No one really cared as the pod drifted along, the combatants unaware of what had just taken place.

She, an agent for the leader of the _most powerful nation on Earth_, was unable to do anything to help the pod containing the prisoner! It made her blood boil with anger and helplessness. She instantly regretted taking on such a mission. Maybe if she hadn't, the pod could have been saved upon launch…maybe the prisoner could have been transferred to a NAZAFT ship…maybe-She shook her head. If she hadn't taken on the mission, then she would not have been aware of the pod and Azrael would have eliminated the pod _and_ its occupant.

She tried to remain focused on her duty as an Earth Alliance soldier, but it was just too difficult. Her instincts were telling her that now was the time to eliminate Azrael, but she also knew that it was not the right time as they were in the middle of a battle.

Doing so would make things even more chaotic than they already were. Fighting two groups of enemies at once was hard enough, but taking out the leader of Blue Cosmos/LOGOs? It would only lower the morale of the crew and make them more likely to be killed in combat. Killing him when the battle was not going in his favor would be the ideal time.

Yet it seemed that the battle _was_ going in his favor. Every time the ships came under attack by the _Dominion_, they seemed to get more and more damaged. Not to mention, ZAFT was also losing to them as well.

Azrael looked over in her direction, making her tense even more. But if he did notice her tense form, he did not mention it. Or he did not care either. He looked away again, making Ensign Lockhart wonder just how much longer she could take, hiding under such pressure. She didn't even _want_ to know how the president handled this type of pressure. It had been hard then, but never for as long as this.

She could only wonder how Azrael could sleep at night, knowing what he was doing. The man just did not seem to be human, given his nature and how he treated other human beings. Yet, he was still able to live and breathe like a normal human could.

Ensign Lockhart closed her eyes, hoping that the ship could retreat soon, giving them time to retrieve the pod that ZAFT had so carelessly launched into space.

* * *

_Mexico City_

Mexican President Diego Gonzalez looked up at the sky above him. Stars flickered in and out of view, making him feel serene. Yet, he was unaware of what the president of his northern neighbor was doing right at that moment.

He wondered why he had not heard from her in so long. Given how busy she was, it was likely that President Hilson was in another country or even in the PLANTs, working on a way to end the war.

Gonzalez did not put it past her to be doing so, and yet, when he had tried to contact her on multiple occasions, she had not answered, or the she had answered and then turned to a more important matter.

Still, he did not dwell on it, and let the stars glimmer before him…

* * *

_Ottawa_

Prime Minister Travis Warson looked up at the northern lights above his city. They were so calming to him. Yet, deep in his mind, he wondered how President Hilson was doing and what she was up to.

Like Gonzalez, he had tried to contact her more than once, only for her to reply and say to caller later. It seemed to him that she was rather busy with the duties her nation called for.

Warson sighed, wondering just how she could not be answering the calls of her two most favored allies. It was not like President Hilson to avoid such calls.

Briefly he wondered if she had been killed, but shoved that thought aside immediately. If she had been, there would have been news on it already. That meant she was either busy as a nation's leader should be, or she was taking a break from her leadership role.

The last idea seemed to be the most plausible, and the most logical, considering what she was going through as the U.S. leader. So it was fitting that she took a break anyway.

He just shrugged and went back to observing the northern lights, unaware of what was going on above his very head concerning his own allied leader.

* * *

Mendel Colony's combatants escape to recover while Kira and Chris try to figure out who, and what, they are while NASA tries to eliminate Azrael and regain their nuclear power. What awaits now? Read on to find out! :3 Flames, AKA, hate filled/spamming reviews, **_will_** be deleted **_AND/OR_** reported depending on if they are signed or not. Anyway, read and review! ^^


	33. Phase 32: A Place for the Soul

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. Nor do I own Martin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: I will have Patrick be in the next chapter regarding Mendel, which will be up next week. :)**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :)**

**A0930: Ah, so you have read my story before, but this is the first time you are reviewing all chapters in general. Ok. :) And no, Chris is no alien, although I can see why you would think that. XD**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those with an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you are a guest without an account, **PLEASE** put **THE SAME** guest name over and over again so it is easier for me to respond to you. Thanks!**

* * *

Phase Thirty-Two: A Place for the Soul

The battle between the forces of the Clyne Faction and the forces of the Earth Alliance raged on. Alliance Daggers clashed with ORB Astrays and colored ZAFT GuAIZs. The Dynames impaled a Dagger through its chest with its GN Beam Saber as it fired its GN Beam Pistol at another. A Strike Dagger fired at an Astray, piercing its cockpit. The mobile suit exploded. Suddenly, a trio of beams hit it. The Dagger's rifle exploded. A beam tore through its left shoulder, severing the arm. The final beam blew its head. The Dagger pilot frantically drew his saber defensively. "Leave while you can." Lucius said as his rifle locked on the Earth machine.

The Dagger pilot didn't need to be twice, and fled the area. Elsewhere, Diana fired her arrestors at a Dagger. One grabbed its right shoulder while the other grabbed its left thigh. Diana pulled her shield in front of her and charged at the Dagger. The mobile suit fired at the Panther, but was blocked by the shield. Just before she reached the Dagger, Diana drew her beam saber and sliced through it with ease.

Some distance away, the Freedom, Wing Zero, and the Justice battled the Calamity, the Forbidden, and the Raider. The Wing and the Z.A.M. Gundam had backed off to help defend the 7th Fleet ships. Kira fired his rifle at the Calamity. But Orga dodged it and fired his Todesblock bazooka. Wing Zero flew up and shots flew past it, hitting the Forbidden's energy deflection shields. The beams bounced off and headed towards the Justice and the Raider. Both machines barely managed to dodge the shots. "Shani! What the hell are you doing?" Clotho shouted.

_"Shut up!"_ Shani yelled back, firing his railguns at the black machine.

Clotho avoided the shots. _"Bastard!"_

_"Knock it off!"_ Orga roared, wildly firing his cannons at the other mobile suits, forcing everyone to stop and dodge the shots.

From the far side of Mendel, the ZAFT forces advanced towards the battle area: eighteen GINNs, two GuAIZs, one CGUE, a CGUE DEEP Arms, the Duel and the five Nazca-class warships. But most were unaware of the escape pod traveling with the ZAFT forces.

* * *

_The Archangel_

"Damn." Samuel swore. "We have to withdraw before the ZAFT forces reach firing range and we become trapped."

_"We'll clear an escape route for us by punching right through them."_ Waltfeld said. _"The_ Eternal _and the_ Kusanagi _will clear the path._ Archangel, _you and the 11th Fleet need to continue dealing with the Earth Forces. The 7th will provide cover should you need it."_

_"But sir! That's near suicidal!"_ DeCosta said. _"If we make a direct run towards them, then warships will be able to attack us with full force at almost point blank range."_

_"That's true, but should we manage to break past them, our odds of being pursued will be drastically decreased."_ Lacus said.

"And the ZAFT warships have spread out to make sure they ensure all of us, including the Alliance." Samuel added. "If you move fast enough, you'll be able to engage one or two of their ships before they can reform their line and overwhelm you. Strike hard. Strike fast."

Waltfeld grinned. _"Yeah, it's risky, but it's our best chance. Captain Ramius?"_

Murrue nodded. "Yes. We'll hold off the _Dominion _and its forces while you make the path."

_"Lisa. Take the _Valkyrie_ and your team, and help them punch through the ZAFT line."_ Diana ordered.

_"Yes ma'am."_ Lisa said. _"You heard her ladies! We're punching through the ZAFT forces!"_

The _Eternal_, the _Kusanagi_ and the _Valkyrie_ started to turn towards the approaching ZAFT forces.

"Ready Gottfrieds One and Two!" Kisaka ordered as the three warships moved towards the ZAFT fleet. "Set targeting to the oncoming ZAFT vessels! All M1s are move to intercept the approaching enemy mobile suits."

The ZAFT fleet had spread out to ensure that they would ensnare all of the fighting warships. But this also meant that the Nazca-class ships were spread out. And wouldn't be able to immediately provide support to one of their own, should they become overwhelmed.

The Gottfried cannons on the _Kusanagi_ fired, as were the _Eternal_'s missiles and main cannon, and the _Valkyrie_'s cannons. The shots went streaking out into space, heading for the two nearest battleships, the _Vesalius_ and the _Burton_, as they fired at the three warships.

* * *

As these barrages were unleashed, a tiny object flew past the ship. Flay whimpered and held the restraints tightly. She had been adrift in outer space, but there hadn't been a battle raging around her. Even worse, someone had preprogrammed the pod and locked out the controls. So she was completely helpless.

* * *

The ZAFT forces closed in on the _Eternal_ and _Kusanagi_. Mobile suits from the two sides prepared to engage one another. Though the Astrays and GuAIZs outclassed the GINNs, their pilots made up for this gap of technological power with experience and slightly larger numbers.

Yzak, Shiho and Saya moved to support their warships. Lisa fired at the Duel as it approached. Yzak sidestepped the shots and fired back. Lisa blocked the shots with her shield and fired again. Yzak blocked with his shield, when suddenly, Lisa fired her arrestors. The grapplers grabbed the Duel's shield and tore it from the machine's hand. Yzak swore as Lisa fired more shots at him. He dove down, drawing a saber in his left hand. "It's gonna take a lot more than that to beat me!" he shouted, lunging at the GuAIZ with his beam saber.

Lisa sidestepped the swing. "Your machine maybe better than mine, but a mobile suit's power doesn't always determine the outcome of a battle!" she said, igniting her shield's beam claws.

Meanwhile, Shiho and Saya were engaging a trio of Astrays. Shiho fired her thermal cannons as Asagi fired her beam rifle. Both pilots missed as they dodged the other's shots. Shiho drew her laser sword and lunged at the Astray. Asagi quickly blocked the swing with her own beam saber. The two were locked for a moment, trying to overpower the other. Then both machines pushed back. Both girls raised their weapons and charged.

Nearby, Saya battled the other two Astrays. She fired her beam rifle at the Astrays. The two M1s split apart, dodging her beams and firing back with their own. But they missed as well. Juri continued to fire as Mayura moved to attack the GuAIZ from behind. But Saya recognized this tactic. She hit her thrusters, flying upwards at maximum speed. Both ORB pilots were caught off guard by this, allowing Saya to turn and fire at her opponents. But both instinctively pulled to the side, dodging the shots.

* * *

_The Archangel_

The Buster, the Surge and the Neo Blitz had been resupplied and were ready to launch. The _Archangel_'s catapults opened and the Neo Blitz was loaded onto the catapult.

"Nicol Amalfi. Neo Blitz launching."

The machine was launched. The Buster and the Surge were then loaded onto the catapults.

"Dearka Elsman. Buster, ready to launch."

"Saul Kessel. Surge takin' off."

The final two machines launched from the _Archangel_. "_Archangel_, where do you need us?" Dearka asked.

_"The two Agamemnon-class ships and their mobile suits are beginning to cause problems for the _Odin _and the_ Einherjar." Miri said. _"They need some back up."_

_"What about Kira, Heero, and Athrun?"_ Nicol asked.

_"They're still fighting those four machines with Commander Alaric."_

_"Where?"_

_"Point Bravo 32."_

Chris nodded, his machine still out on the field, heading towards their location. "_I'm going to help them."_

"Alright. We'll help out the 11th Fleet." Dearka said as he and his teammates headed for the _Odin_ and the _Einherjar._

"DIE!" Martin cheered, firing his remaining missiles and Gatling guns at the debris in front of him.

The debris exploded. The Farsight braced itself as debris and a few missiles impacted it, knocking the machine. "I found you!" Martin shouted, firing at the Farsight.

John dove out of his firing path, firing his beam pistol and sniper rifle at the Massacre. At that moment, the low power alarm went off. John scowled. "Damn. Looks like playtime is over."

Martin grabbed his left beam saber and charged at the Farsight. But as the Massacre was halfway there, a pair of GN Vulcan rounds sped towards its path. Martin stopped the Massacre and the rounds missed him by a few feet.

"Well, you're not my doppleganger, but you'll do." Chris said before firing at the mobile suit.

"Pest! Die!" Martin roared, firing at the Exia.

"Whoa..." Chris said, pulling a series of quick evasive maneuvers. "You alright John?"

_"Yeah but I'm low on power."_

"Pull back. I'll keep him company."

John nodded his head. _"Kira, Heero, and Athrun are nearby, battling the others. Regroup with them."_

The Farsight turned and started to leave. "No! You're not leaving yet!" Martin pouted, heading after it.

Chris drew a saber and lunged at the Massacre. Martin spun around and blocked with his own saber. "You gotta go through me first." Chris said.

* * *

_The Dominion_

"Captain! ZAFT lifepod approaching. It's broadcasting a distress signal." the radar controller said.

Natarle was bewildered by the move. Was this that prisoner the ZAFT Commander spoke of? "What are they thinking, launching a pod like this without waiting for any sort of reply?"

Azrael smirked with enjoyment. "That's a vexing question. Do they want us to recover it, or perhaps destroy it?" he said, "If this is some kind of trap, it's an odd one. So what should we do?"

Natarle didn't answer, as her ship rocked from the impact of enemy fire from the _Archangel_. The lifepod had to wait for now.

Simultaneously, the _Luther_ and the _Washington_, and their mobile suits battled the 11th Fleet and their 7th Fleet allies. Both Agamemnon-class warships fired at the _Odin_ with their cannon. "Evasive maneuvers!" Captain Lee shouted.

The _Odin_ pulled to the left, evading most of the beams. But two beams grazed the right side of the warship, cutting two long gashes along the ship's hull.

"Captain! Atmosphere venting in subsections 36 through 39!"

"Seal off those compartments!" Lee ordered. "Target the nearest Agamemnon and fire! And what the hell are the mobile suits doing out there?"

The _Odin_ fired at the _Luther_, but it managed to evade the twin beams from its cannon.

Akira, who was in the Wing, flew around the Strike Daggers, slicing one in half before he pulled back, firing on another Dagger with his beam rifle. The shot hit the leg of the Dagger, making the limb fly off in space.

Nearby, the Surge sliced a Strike Dagger in two. The Buster fired its gun launcher at another Dagger, destroying it. But more Daggers approached. "Damn. All they seem to do is crank more of these tin cans out." Dearka said, firing off his missiles.

Nisha unleashed several missiles from the Z.A.M. Gundam, hitting a squadron of Daggers and wiping them out in a series of explosions.

The Dynames was sniping from not too far away, about a mile out. Several Daggers blew up, seven shots for seven machines.

The Neo Blitz appeared out of nowhere, igniting its beam saber and slicing through a Dagger from behind. "Come on." Nicol said. "The _Odin_ needs some help."

Saul chuckled. _"Saving my sister's flag. I'm gonna enjoy this."_

The trio headed the _Luther_, the closer of the two Alliance warships, dodging fire from Daggers and the warship's vulcans. Saul struck first, skimming across the top of the ship's hull. He targeted the several of the _Luther_'s vulcans and fired, destroying a number of the ship's anti-mobile suit guns. Nicol followed, going after the main cannons of the ship and fired his beam rifle. The cannons exploded. As this happened, Dearka moved towards the rear of the warship. His target was the _Luther_'s engines. He combined his gun launcher with his high-energy rifle and fired. His shots hit the engines, heavily damaging them and crippling the warship's ability to move.

"They've weakened the ship! Fire!" Lee ordered.

The _Odin_'s beam cannons fired. The beams tore the _Luther_'s nose, penetrating deep into the ship. The _Luther_ stood there for a moment before explosions ripped through the ship's hull, destroying it.

* * *

Almost on the other side of the battlefield, the Freedom, Wing Zero, and the Justice were still caught in the firefight with the other three enemy mobile suits. Seeds had shattered in Athrun's and Kira's minds, but even that didn't seem to be enough to give them the edge over the Calamity, the Forbidden and the Raider. Heero however, did have the advantage thanks to the Zero System.

The Forbidden fired its cannon. Kira and Athrun barely managed to evade the onslaught of curving beams. "Terminate!" Clotho shouted, throwing his spherical breaker at the trio.

Kira blocked the weapon with his shield and fired at the black machine. But Clotho dove out of the way. The Calamity fired its cannons at the Justice. Athrun sidestepped Orga's shots and threw one of his beam boomerangs. Orga dodged the weapon. Heero fired the Twin Buster Rifle on the Forbidden, Shani dodging the shots, if just barely. Then again, the shot had not been at full anyway…

Suddenly, a barrage of beams tore through the area, narrowly missing the Calamity. Everyone stopped and turned to the source. The Exia, brandishing its GN Blades, flew towards them. The Massacre was right behind it, firing wildly.

"Martin! What the hell?" Orga shouted. "Are you trying to kill me, you lunatic?"

_"Yeah!"_ Clotho added. _"And that copycat is mine!"_

Chris shook his head. "Not this again." he said, taking out the GN Vulcan and then firing at the Raider. "I'm the original. You're the copy."

The Raider immediately took off after the Exia, dodging its shots. _"Shut up! I'm gonna tear you apart!"_

* * *

_The Dominion_

"Captain Badgiruel, the _Luther_ had been sunk and we've lost fifty-percent of our Strike Daggers."

Natarle couldn't believe it. With the loss of the _Luther_ and half of their Strike Daggers, they wouldn't be able to stay in the battle much longer, especially with the incoming ZAFT forces. Just then, a scream of static turned her attention over to communications. "What is that?"

"It's the signal from the lifepod, ma'am. It's being broadcasted over an international rescue channel." The operator answered. "Shall I clear it up ma'am?"

"Yes."

Static faded somewhat as the voice started to come through. "Archangel..._ese help me_..."

Natarle gasped. She knew that voice.

* * *

_The Archangel_

The same message was heard over the communication lines of the _Archangel_. It was hard to believe, but the voice was very familiar. They all knew who it was.

Miriallia glanced over her shoulder. "Sai, isn't that-"

"Yes." he said. "It's Flay."

The bridge crew was surprised to hear her voice. They couldn't help but wonder where she had been all this time and how she ended up inside a ZAFT lifepod.

* * *

"Who is that?" Azrael asked. "What's this all about?"

"It's Flay Allster." Natarle explained. "The daughter of the late Vice Foreign Minister George Allster."

Azrael raised an eyebrow "Are you serious?"

Before she could say more, Flay continued her calls. _"Please! That man gave me the key!"_ she yelled, her voice filled with fear. _"The key to end the war!"_

Everyone was baffled by her words. Certainly it was enigmatic, but the _Dominion_'s captain wasn't about to stand back and wait for any more developments.

"Get me the Calamity!" Natarle ordered. "Have Ensign Sabnak retrieve that pod immediately!"

Elsewhere, the Exia pulled away from the battle, its GN Drive propelling it at high speed. "Hold on Flay. I'm coming." Chris said as he flew for the pod.

But at the same time, the Calamity broke off its attack and headed for the pod. Kira, Heero, and Athrun saw this, but were unable to help because of their ongoing battle with the rest of the Extended. Chris reached the pod first. "I got you Flay!" Chris shouted, reaching for the pod.

For the first time in a long time, Flay felt truly happy. _"Chris!"_ she shouted in joy. His machine was different, but as long as it was Chris in that cockpit, she could care less.

But Chris hadn't realized that the Raider was still chasing after him. "No you don't, copycat!" Clotho shouted, firing his hammer at the Exia.

_"Chris! Behind you!"_ Flay shouted.

But it was already too late.

The hammer hit its target, tearing through the Exia's left side. There was an explosion in the cockpit. A piece of shrapnel impaled his left bicep as a smaller piece smashed through his helmet's visor, cutting into the left side of his face. Chris screamed in pain, clutching his bloody face. At that moment, the Calamity picked up the pod.

"FLAY!" Chris screamed as the Calamity flew off with the pod while a seed shattered in his mind.

_"CHRIS!"_ Flay screamed as she helplessly watched the Exia slip further and further away.

Ignoring the pain of his injuries, Chris roared as he chased after the Calamity. But the Raider and Massacre fired on him, forcing him to dodge their shots, but he continued on after them. The Raider threw its hammer at him again. But he turned and sliced through it with one of his sabers. Chris turned and pursued the Calamity. Fortunately, the Exia was faster than the Calamity. He caught up to the machine and grabbed its back.

"What the hell? Get the hell off me!" Orga shouted, trying to shake him off.

_"Let go of her!"_ Chris yelled back, trying to pry the pod from the Calamity's fingers.

"No! Someone get this punk off me!"

The Raider, in its mobile armor mode, appeared. It ignited its Ahura Mazda sabers, heading for the two. Chris saw him coming. He had no choice. If he stayed on the Calamity, the Raider would cut through him and likely into the Calamity. It would destroy both machines, and Flay's pod in the process. He had to let go.

He released the Calamity, spun and fired at the Raider. Forcing Clotho to stop and evaded the shots. The Raider transformed back and fired. Chris dodged, but his vision briefly blurred. His wounds were beginning to affect him. But he couldn't stop now. He had to save Flay.

Clotho fired his railgun again. Chris sidestepped the shots. But this time, he wasn't fast enough. A round grazed the Exia's right leg. Suddenly, a barrage of beams flew past the Raider. The Freedom approached the pair.

_"Chris! Fall back! There's nothing you can do!"_ Kira shouted as he pulled alongside the Exia.

But he couldn't go back yet. He had to save her. Chris turned to chase after the Calamity when Kira grabbed the Exia's arm, stopping him from. "Let me go dammit!" Chris shouted. "We have to save her!"

But the Calamity was already nearing the _Dominion_. It was too late.

_"Get back to the_ Archangel." Kira said. _"Ms. Badgiruel is the captain of that ship. She won't let anything happen to her."_

Chris gritted his teeth. _'He's right. But...'_ He sighed. _'I never should have let her go at JOSH-A. None of this would have happened.'_

_"Chris?"_

"Yeah yeah. I'm going." he replied, heading for the _Archangel_.

* * *

_The Archangel_

"Ma'am. The Exia's been damaged and is returning." Miri said. "They couldn't rescue Flay in time."

Murrue grimaced. They couldn't do anything for Flay now. But at least with Natarle as the captain of that ship, Flay would be safe aboard the _Dominion_.

_"Captain Ramius."_ Commander Waltfeld said. _"We're about to make our move."_

She nodded. "Understood. Fire the signal flare. Recall all mobile suits." she ordered. "Bring us to the _Eternal_'s position."

Upon her command, flares shot out and exploded in brilliant lights. The remaining mobile suit pilots all saw the flares and started their return their respective ships.

* * *

_The Dominion_

With the pod now on board and a portion of the ZAFT forces had reached their position, Natarle knew they had to withdraw. Due to the destruction of the _Luther_ and much of their complement of Strike Daggers, they wouldn't be able to survive a battle with the ZAFT forces. "Recall all our remaining mobile suits! Once all units have returned, we'll pull back from this sector!"

The _Dominion_ fired its own retreat flares. And the surviving Alliance forces began their withdrawal from the battle.

* * *

The _Vesalius_ shook as it was hit again and again by the combined fire of the _Eternal_, the _Kusanagi_ and _Valkyrie_. Fires erupted within the ship as damage spread across the ship. Nearby, the _Burton_ shuttered as the _Valkyrie_'s GuAIZs fired on it, along with the 7th Fleet's guns. One GuAIZ fired at the _Burton_'s main cannons while another fired on its engines. The cannons and the engines exploded. Leaving the ship crippled.

"The _Burton_'s lost its main cannons and engines!"

"We've lost control of the plasma surge!"

Ades gritted his teeth as the three warships started to through the newly formed opening in the ZAFT line. The _Vesalius_ was finished. But if this was going to be his final battle, he would at least die with some honor. "Keep on firing!" he ordered. "We need to stop them for as long as possible!"

By now, the _Archangel_, the _Odin_ and the _Einherjar_ had caught up with the rest of their forces. The Freedom, the Justice, Wing Zero, the Buster, the Surge and Neo Blitz had all taken up defense positions around the three ships. Everyone watched as the _Eternal_ and the _Kusanagi_ fired one final barrage at the already dying warship. As the warships and their escorts drove through the breach, Athrun, Dearka, Nicol, Aki', and Saul gave a departing salute out of respect to what had been their ship and its crew.

The _Vesalius_ then exploded in a massive fireball.

Rau watched his flag's destruction emotionlessly. "All remaining troops, we're retreating!" he ordered. "Regroup at coordinates Delta Zero."

The loss of the _Vesalius_ and Ades's death were of no concern to him. Once Flay handed over the disk she carried to Azrael, the last stage of his ultimate plan would be set in motion.

* * *

_The Dominion_

With the last of the mobile suits aboard and secured, the _Dominion _and the _Washington_ took off, heading back to the Moon.

Flay, meanwhile, had been escorted to the bridge. She was nervous...No. She was scared. This ship was like the _Archangel_. But it wasn't. They were the _Archangel_'s enemies, which meant she wasn't any safer here than she had been with ZAFT.

"So you're Flay Allster."

She turned to see Azrael approaching her. His eyes locked on the disk she held in her hands and grin on face. "So, is this that key you mentioned?" he asked, reaching for it.

Before she could react, Azrael plucked it from her hands. "Y...yes." she nervously answered.

"Interesting." He mused, examining the disk. "Where did you get this?"

"From a ZAFT officer named Le Creuset. He wears a mask."

Azrael's eyes lit up and his smile grew even wider. He quickly left the left the bridge, heading for his quarters.

At that moment, Natarle rose from her chair, surprising Flay. "It's good to see that you're alive, Miss Flay." She said with a slight smile. "Are you well?"

Flay, finally broke down and began to cry. Seeing this, Natarle wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders, allowing the teen to let it all out.

Ensign Lockhart watched this, noticing the small USB that was hanging from her wrist.

* * *

_The Hanger_

"Director Azrael congratulates you all on a job well done." the voice of one of the doctors said over the comm.

The four Extendeds were barely aware of his words. The pain of withdrawal was blocking the outside world as they flailed and screamed in agony. The cockpit hatches of their machines opened up. Standing on the catwalks was a doctor carrying four vials of the medicine that would take the pain away. The four pilots immediately unbuckled their safety restraints. They moved as quickly as they could in zero-g, tearing off their helmets. They all quickly drank up the bitter medicine.

Almost instantly, the pain shrank to a dull ache in their entire bodies. Clotho, Martin, Orga and Shani all let out a sigh of relief as they limply floated there.

* * *

_The Archangel_

Murrue entered the infirmary. Mu, who had been treated for his injuries, was sitting on one of the cots, an IV in his arm. He was flipping through an old photo album. She glanced at the old book. "What is that?"

"We found that inside the colony." Mu explained. "No, actually Le Creuset pretty much gave it to us."

Mu turned the page. There was a photo of Mu and his father, smiling. "The thing I remember most about my father, was that he was arrogant and unreasonable." he said in a weary tone. "He was always belittling other people. He looked down on just about everyone. He died when I was just a kid. But he still seems to haunt me."

"What do you mean?"

"As crazy as it sounds, Rau Le Creuset is clone of my father. And a failed one at that." Mu said. "He ages too quickly because of short telomeres. At this rate, he may not even last a few more years. He's a man with no past and no future, and maybe no true identity."

"So he wants to take the entire world down with him somehow?"

Mu slowly nodded. "But I won't let him do that. Even if it costs me my life, I promise I will stop him."

Murrue gently ran her fingers through his hair. "Please don't say things like that."

Mu twisted his head and saw the look in her eyes. All his anger and frustrations melted away. "I'm sorry." he said before their lips met in a kiss.

* * *

Chris walked through the corridors of the _Archangel_'s crew quarters. A bandage was on his left cheek and his left arm was in a sling. He was lucky. The chuck of shrapnel that hit his arm just missed the bone. He'd be fine in a week or two.

But that didn't matter. He had failed to rescue Flay. She was right there. And she slipped out of his hands. He punched a wall in frustration with his right hand. He hadn't been strong enough. He had failed her.

"Blaming yourself because of what happened to Flay?"

Chris glanced over his shoulder. "She'll be safe with Badgiruel on that ship." his grandfather said, approaching him.

Chris sighed. "I know. But I had her. She was right there. And I couldn't stop them from taking her."

Samuel put a hand on his grandson's shoulder. "She'll be fine. No doubt the _Dominion_ is heading back to Moon. She's not a soldier. They'll ship her back to Earth."

It did little to make him feel better. Suddenly, he remembered that lab. He pushed those events into the back of his mind during all the fighting. He couldn't deal with it at the time. But now...Now he needed answers.

"Inside Mendel...I learned some things. I need to know. Who were my parents really?"

* * *

_The Eternal_

Cagalli hurried through the corridors of the _Eternal_. Kira had asked her to come aboard the ship. Apparently, he had found something important in the colony. She entered the room Kira was in. Inside were Kira, Athrun, Heero, and Lacus. "Thanks for coming Cagalli." Kira said, handing her a picture frame.

She let out gasp as she held it. Her hands shook as she pulled out the photo her father had given her. They were two copies of the same picture. Where had this come from?

"Kira?"

Kira started to shudder and looked away. The memories of that place were coming back as fresh as when they happened. He was about to speak when there was a knock at the door. "I'm sorry to disturb you." Martin said from the other side of the door. "But General Dante has asked for Kira and Cagalli to come aboard the _Archangel_ as soon as possible."

Cagalli opened the door. "We're kinda busy here. Did he say why wanted to see us?"

"Not exactly. He said he had some things he needs to tell you about what happened in Mendel."

Kira immediately perked up. He had forgotten that Creuset had revealed that Chris's parents were apparently involved in what happened there. Perhaps his grandfather could fill in the missing pieces.

"Tell him we'll be there in a little-"

"No. We'll go now." Kira said.

Cagalli turned to him. "Kira?"

"I think he can fill in some of the missing pieces behind these photos and what I found at Mendel." he answered.

Cagalli nodded. She was just as desperate for answers. "Then let's go."

"Kira, I would like to go as well." Lacus said.

This surprised Kira. "Lacus?"

"Then I guess I better go as well." Athrun added.

"I need some explanation as well. So I'll come too." Heero replied.

* * *

_Azrael's Quarters_

_The Dominion_

Azrael inserted the disk he took from Flay into his computer and opened the files. He was very eager to see what Creuset had given him. First to come up were the complete schematics of the Freedom and Justice, which was a goldmine in itself. As he had suspected, they were nuclear powered, which explained their amazing capabilities. With the information, the Advanced European Union could easily build new mobile suits that outclassed the GAT series, maybe even _NASA's Traverses_! But then he found an even better prize. The words 'N-JAMMER CANCELER' appeared on the screen and Azrael's eyes lit up as his lips stretched into a grin. Every piece of data needed for the device was now in front of him. Well, almost all the data anyway. Still, he laughed maniacally in triumph. Now the Earth Alliance could regain its nuclear weapons production capabilities, and throw it at the Coordinators in full force. The greatest gift of all had been dropped right in his hands.

"Perfect!" he shouted as he laughed the laugh of the mad and the dammed. "This is all too perfect!"

* * *

Ensign Lockhart drifted down to her room, the conversation with Flay Allster still fresh in her mind.

-_Flashback_-

_"Are you sure you will get this to NASA?" Flay asked, her voice filled with fear._

_The ensign just smiled and nodded. "Yes, I can. And don't worry; nothing bad will happen to you. I will see to that personally."_

_Flay did not seemed to be too relieved. But something told her to trust this woman, who seemed to have a calming air around her. Shaking, she held out the USB, which Ensign Lockhart took._

_Looking at it, she asked the question. "What is it?"_

_Flay just looked down. "I was told by a ZAFT officer to get it to NASA."_

_"I see." With that, the woman left._

_-End Flashback-_

Ensign Lockhart entered her room, closing the door behind her and locking it. She then went to her computer and plugged in the USB. Staring at her right in the face was the answer to NASA's N-Jammer Canceller problem.

"No way…" She murmured as a grin crossed her face. This was NASA's answer!

Immediately, she sent the data down to Earth, where her contact would receive it.

* * *

_Washington D.C._

President Hilson could only grin as the data flowed in from her contact up in orbit. This was the data that they had been waiting for! Using the email system for Washington's leadership, she brought up the contacts she had in her list and sent them the data. The N-Jammer Canceller plans and data were now theirs!

In the Pentagon, military personnel were running about, eagerly sending the data to their superiors who received the news with grins that could not be suppressed. Almost immediately, the news of obtaining the N-Jammer Canceller data was sent out to the defense contractors and builders. Now they had the advantage!

In factories around the alliance, production was beginning right away. Still, tests would be needed to confirm the data. But that they could do.

President Hilson smiled as she looked up at a certain point in orbit. "Well done, Danielle…Well done…"

The mission's secondary objective had been accomplished.

* * *

_NASA Missile Silos_

The techs were all cheering as the news came over the TV stations almost at once.

"Can you believe it?! We have the data! We actually _have the data!_" an engineer cried as he threw his hat up into the air, only for it to hit another worker on the head with an _"OW!"_

"Hey, if it wasn't for their quick thinking in Washington, we would have never gotten the data we now possess." A scientist reminded him.

The engineer just grinned. "Yeah, I know. But still, _we actually got the data!_"

His comrade just shook her head in disbelief. "That guy…"

Another worker looked up from the missile that was open. "Well, given the tech of the things, we should be able to hook it into the systems. We did, after all, install nuclear fusion based engines in these things." He remarked.

The lead military officer walked over. "That we did. If we can make these old things use nuclear-fusion reactors for engines, then installing the N-Jammer Cancellers should be no trouble at all." She said as she stopped near the team.

"When's the soonest we can start installing these things?" another worker asked.

"As soon as the first ones come out, which should be in a day at the least, three days at the most." The major replied as she looked back at the worker.

Everyone there could not help but grin in response.

* * *

_Dominion_

Ensign Lockhart was already talking with her contact, who was more than pleased with the results.

_"Nice work, Ensign. You really outdid yourself."_ She praised her.

"Thank you, ma'am. But that is just the secondary objective. The primary one is still in effect, and I hope to pull it off in the next few days to say the least. If not, then in the next week." Ensign Lockhart replied.

Her contact could not help but grin. _"I expect you to do so with flying colors then."_

Both just laughed, despite the risk of being found out. Then her contact turned serious again. _"No, seriously, I expect you to pull this off with success. If this is anything, then you can do this with no trouble."_

"I know. But there is still the risk of my cover being blown, even with this success." She reminded her.

_"Just do not forget that NASA is counting on you to return, not only alive and well, but successful too. If you return alive, but the mission a failure, then it is okay. You are needed as an inspiration, not just as a soldier."_ Her contact replied.

"That may be true, but I am still a citizen of the nation. And it is in my blood to help out when I can, even if I am the just an ensign." Ensign Lokchart remarked. "I can't just sit back and do nothing."

_'Although, that may be what cost many soldiers their lives…'_ She thought to herself as her contact just looked at her with a confused look. Still, she let it slide.

_"Just be careful and don't slip up."_ Her contact said before she closed the line.

"Will do…"

* * *

_Washington D.C._

The president leaned back in her chair, her head in her hands. Why did she have to be so stubborn?!

"Damn it, Marie…Why did you, of all people, have to be made President of the United States?!" she groaned. There was no answer. Sitting up, President Hilson looked out the window.

She was aware of her abilities, but it was her family history that was the most interesting part about her as a person. President Hilson's real name, her birth name, was Mackenzie Samantha Allen, the last survivor of the Allen Political Family Dynasty.

During her time in college, she had been attacked by Blue Cosmos, or rather, her family had, leaving her the only survivor of the four found in and outside the house. Afterwards, she had gone into hiding as Marie Hilson, a normal college student who happened to be a victim of an explosion not too long afterwards.

Still, she often wondered why she hid herself from her past, and her family's achievements. There was no need to do so, and yet she was. President Hilson knew that it was because she did not want to be targeted by Blue Cosmos from day one.

Despite that, President Hilson had politics in her blood. That she could not deny. True, her style of speaking publicly was far from refined, but then again, the Allen Dynasty, her family, _had_ been known to be rather blunt on a regular basis to get their point across.

If it wasn't their speaking skills that made them famous, then it was their _achievements_ that made them well-known, most of which were in the Coordinator and Natural rights arena. _That_ was what the Allen Dynasty was known for.

President Hilson just sighed. How could she be so unwilling to accept her family's history and embrace it? Hell, she was the _last living member_ of the Dynasty! How could she be so stubborn like the rest of the political line?!

She just shook her head. She knew why well enough…

* * *

_Pentagon_

Defense Secretary John Keller looked over the data that had been sent recently from the White House. It was just the data that they needed to overcome the N-Jammers. Listed before him was the mineral that was needed to overcome the radiation among other things. And that they had in abundance within their own boundaries.

The realization then began to hit home. _They_ had the mineral! That meant that the Earth Forces and LOGOs/Blue Cosmos would have to try and gain the mineral through trading! It was just too perfect! Now _NASA_ had the advantage, and it was their turn to shine once more! Not only as a nation that was known for human rights defense, but also as a former superpower that had regained its once-held title.

Defense Secretary Keller smiled at the data as it scrolled across his screen. This would be their way of getting revenge on LOGOs for what they had done to Coordinators in the past and present years. Not to mention, NASA would have a position of power that _no one_ would want to challenge, lest they face a nuclear missile attack on their cities.

That last part made him frown, as he knew that the alliance would face stigmas and angry people for their decision to use such weapons on other nations. Still, it would be better than letting the PLANTs suffer another massive loss of life. Not even the largest mass attack on the United States in its entire history could compare to the Junius Seven attack.

The mere idea of using nuclear missiles of that caliber made Keller shudder just thinking about it. The fact that NASA was willing to use such things worried him, and yet the thought of countless people dying all because of a war that was started by Blue Cosmos/LOGOs disturbed him even more, thus the justification in using such powerful weapons.

It was the only option NASA had left; otherwise they would have to rely on the PLANTs winning the war, and with Wu's faction in charge, that seemed highly unlikely at this point. Given the fact that the man wanted to wipe out _ALL_ Naturals…And Blue Cosmos/LOGOs all Coordinators, those missiles were the only thing that would be able to end the war.

Blue Cosmos/LOGOs _feared_ NASA, if not for their military power, then for their ability to adapt economically and produce whatever is needed for war at a high rate of output. The PLANTs respected NASA for their history and reputation in the human rights arena, but knew little of their true military and economic power due to the N-Jammer Drop and the fact that NASA had hidden their true potential in the early years of the C.E. era.

It only made sense then that NASA was also affected by the N-Jammers, but in reality, they were far from it due to using nuclear _fusion_ reactors to power their factories among other things.

Keller looked out the window of the Pentagon office that was his to use. Military personnel were running about, trying to get data and information to the right military officers.

He frowned at the recollection of JOSH-A. The OMNI forces there had forced them to withdraw their own forces stationed there, mainly the Coordinator officers, otherwise OMNI would kill them all just for merely being different and _existing_. So the NASA Joint Operations Center had made the decision to recall all active-duty and on-leave Coordinator officers and soldiers just to keep them alive, but out of protest, they had also withdrawn all _Natural_ officers and soldiers as well, leaving the Earth Forces with no form of aid from NASA.

That included taking the Traverse Gundams and data with them, so OMNI had no real defense against ZAFT when the attack had happened. And the news of the base commander being killed as he left was even more disturbing. Not to mention, the Cyclops System had been under the base as well, so the OMNI soldiers there were responsible for the loss of the base. And the group would be asked to replace it once the war was over.

It made Keller sick to think that OMNI had gone to such lengths to keep the base from ZAFT. If OMNI really wanted to keep the base out of ZAFT hands, then they could have asked NASA to take it back, but given their hatred for Coordinators, NASA would have said no anyways.

Merely attacking Coordinators for simply existing made the older man sick to his stomach with hatred and disgust that could not be hidden from view. More often than not when he heard the phrase _'For the preservation of our pure and blue world',_ he felt like throwing up on the nutjob who said it.

He laughed slightly at the thought of doing so, but it faded quickly, as he was aware of the situation of the war. Both sides were more than willing to go to such extreme lengths to win, and NASA was caught in the middle. They had to act, otherwise, no one would be left alive in the end…

* * *

_Dominion_

_Few hours later_

Ensign Lockhart looked out the window of her room, watching the stars drift on by. Taking out her ID card, he looked at the image on it. A young woman who had dark brown hair and brown eyes was shown. See sighed, wondering just how many identities she would obtain. This was just the first one, but if this mission was a success, she would regain her real identity. Then she would be able to be with the one she loved, who happened to be a Coordinator.

But as Ensign Lockhart, she had to hate Coordinators in order to pass off as one of the Earth Alliance officials. That in itself was hard, as she wanted to go back to the way she normally acted whenever there was a Blue Cosmos member or supporter around.

It was so hard to pass off as one of those who could be classified as a war criminal, and she knew it. This was her first time doing so too. Hell, it was her first mission _in general_!

Ensign Lockhart frowned before putting the ID away. She glanced back out the window again, wondering when the war would truly start to come to an end. _'Will it be by genocide launched by both sides, or will someone else interfere, sparing the world its destruction?'_

She was fully aware of those who wanted to end the war peacefully, which included NASA of all alliances, as well. It just seemed to fit with their idea of ending the war by other means.

Yet, those in power within ZAFT and out of ZAFT seemed to think otherwise. They desired the complete destruction of the human race. Closing her eyes, Ensign Lockhart began to recall the facts that led to her situation currently.

_'First off, Commander Rau Le Creuset of ZAFT sold nuclear missiles to the group Blue Cosmos/LOGOs so they could use them to cause the Bloody Valentine incident. But before that, there was the Copernicus Tragedy, which was caused by a rogue Coordinator who wanted to kill the UN leaders who had been chosen to go to space, not the UN leaders on Earth._

_Next, there is the death of Commander White, who was killed by a bomb that was planted at the Gibraltar base of ZAFT. That eliminated the 7th Fleet's commander, but not the fleet itself, which was good. Still, the mole we had inside ZAFT was killed, meaning that someone knew about that ahead of time. Not to mention, the 7th Fleet is made up of Coordinators who are all from and connected to NASA one way or another._

_That means that someone targeted the fleet for a reason. And that person was more than willing to hand over N-Jammer Canceller data to the forces of Blue Cosmos/LOGOs, which is disturbing to say the least._

_That girl, Flay, said that the masked man gave her the disk that Director Azrael now has…!'_

That clinched for her. It all made sense now. Rau buying and selling nukes, the bomb killing Commander White, taking Flay hostage and using him to give the N-Jammer Canceller to Azrael, it was all connected back to one man.

"ZAFT Commander Rau Le Creuset…_HE_ is the one behind all of this!" She blurted out as he sat up. Heading over to her computer, she brought up the line with her contact.

_"What is it?"_ Her contact asked. It was no doubt early where she was.

"I just figured out who is controlling this whole war!" Ensign Lockhart replied almost immediately. "I know who is responsible for almost everything to date! But it's not who you might think!"

Those words got her contact's attention at once. _"What?! How did you find that out?!"_

"I merely thought about the events leading to the mission I'm currently on. And it all just came together from there. True, the Copernicus Tragedy was not done by this man, but everything thereafter was. It is that ZAFT Commander, Rau Le Creuset! _He_ is behind everything else that has happened in this war! And he wants to wipe out all of humanity!" Ensign Lockhart shouted back.

_"He WHAT?!"_ Now her contact was shocked beyond belief. _"Wiping out all of humanity, not just Naturals or Coordinators?! How insane can this guy be?!"_

"I have no idea. I just realized this not too long ago myself. So while it does sound hard to believe, I feel that this may be what he wants to do." Ensign Lockhart replied.

Her contact sighed. _"This really complicates matters now. We just received the data on N-Jammer Canceller tech, and then this news comes up. Just how much more pressure needs to be placed on us anyway? Aren't we doing enough to try and end the war?"_

Ensign Lockhart sighed. "Apparently not if this is what Le Creuset is after."

_"You have to remember, this is all just a guess though, right?"_ her contact reminded her.

"That's just it. Looking at the facts, I don't think that this _is_ a guess." Ensign Lockhart replied.

Her contact frowned, knowing that she was right. It did not make sense for this all to be a mere guess, given the past events that they knew about.

_"Just be careful when you go back out there."_ She reminded her before closing the connection once more.

* * *

_New Juneau_

People moved around, working to get the data on the PLANT military's movements to NASA and the others involved in trying to end the war.

It seemed that the PLANTs had some kind of plan to try and win the war based on the movements of their ships. But as to what it was, they did not know.

That was the one mystery that the NAZAFT commander did not like to have unsolved. It just meant more trouble for all involved in the war, including NASA itself. And to add in the fact that they were still out their most powerful missiles just made things even worse yet.

They needed those missiles, and with the data that had recently been sent, they were now close to regaining the one advantage they had lost. But it all relied on how quickly the devices could be produced, and based on recent records sent to the colony, that was very quickly. The N-Jammer Cancellers were already being produced in fact.

Still, that could only by them some time before the PLANTs unleashed whatever they had planned for the Earth.

And that was going to come very soon, she knew.

It was going to come very soon indeed…

Looking out the window, she watched the Naturals and Coordinators who lived in the colony working on finishing up with the newest update to the colony's defenses, a missile launcher that would fire the most powerful man-made weapons ever created.

She just hoped that they would never see combat in the near future…

* * *

Flay is rescued, but not by the _Archangel_. Now in the hands of the Earth Alliance, the NJC plans have been delivered to those who want to commit genocide. But at the same time, NASA gets the answer to their own N-Jammer issue, just as the secrets of Mendel Colony begin to reveal themselves. What awaits now? Read on to find out! :3 Flames, AKA, hate filled/spamming reviews, **_will_** be deleted **_AND/OR_** reported depending on if they are signed or not. Anyway, read and review! ^^


	34. Phase 33: Glimpse of the Past

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. Nor do I own Martin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: Flay remains on the _Dominion _for now. :)**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :)**

**A0930: Trust me, more is to come. :3**

**Foxhound1998: I update once a week. But I can update more since I have time due to the quarantine thing going on. :P**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those with an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you are a guest without an account, **PLEASE** put **THE SAME** guest name over and over again so it is easier for me to respond to you. Thanks!**

* * *

Phase Thirty-Three: Glimpse of the Past

_The Archangel_

Kira, Cagalli, Lacus, Heero and Athrun entered the _Archangel_'s pilot briefing room. Inside were Chris, his sister Elizabeth, and their grandfather, Samuel. Chris and Liz sat in chairs while Samuel was standing at the speaker's podium. Off to the side was Patrick Zala, Athrun's father. "Ah... Kira, Cagalli. Good. We can start now. All of you take a seat." he said.

The five sat down next to Chris and Liz.

"How's your arm, Chris?" Kira asked, taking note of the bandages on his face and arm.

"I'll be fine." he replied, waving him off.

"Now, things have been revealed that I planned on revealing to you all soon. Once we had secured things at Mendel, I was going to explain this all to you." Samuel said. "But things did not turn out that way."

"Now, I have never set foot in Mendel myself, but I have the one of the few surviving records of what happened." he explained, pulling out a pocket hard drive. "I had wanted to explain this all to you when the _Archangel_ first arrived at ORB, as did Lord Uzumi. Since Cagalli and Kira met as they did, we felt it was time to explain the truth of your pasts'. However, when Lord Uzumi and I spoke with the Yamatos about revealing this, they refused. This forced Lord Uzumi and I to wait. Your mother Kira, is quite a formidable woman."

Kira didn't say anything. "And whatever you think Kira, that woman is as much your mother as the woman in the photograph." Samuel added.

He cleared his throat and plugged the drive into a port on podium. "What I hold here is the audio logs my son made during his stay at Mendel. It is his words that can best explain what happened at Mendel. My son David and his wife were not medical doctors as they told you."

"Then what were they?" Liz asked.

"Geneticists." he answered, pushing the play button.

**_April 25, CE 50_**_: "This is Dr. David Dante. We've arrived at Mendel. I must admit, I am still a little leery about Hibiki's offer. But if he can come through with his promises of a state-of-the-art lab and proper funding, than I can't complain about what he wants, even if it is a stupid goal. It is his desire to create a prefect Coordinator, devoid of any of the natural flaws that occur during their development in the womb. While I support finding ways to ease the pregnancy and birth on the mother and the reduction of miscarriages, things like making sure the eyes and hair are the right color, is nothing more than vanity. In the end, it has no real value to humanity."_

"_Tomorrow, Claire and I will be visiting the lab for the first time."_

**_April 26, CE 50_**_: "It seems Hibiki was not lying after all. The lab there is easily the largest and most sophisticated laboratory I've ever seen. It will be more than adequate for our purposes. However, as expected, most of our colleges are less than pleased to have us here. Many refuse to even acknowledge our theory on the Superior Evolutionary Element Destined Factor, although we do have a few supporters. One of the doctors that will be working under me, Dr. Yushiro Kamakura from the Republic of East Asia, is a big supporter of our theory. A NASA doctor, Dr. Keiko Itsuno, also will be working under me. A fellow Coordinator and former mentor, Joseph Durandal, is also a strong supporter. Of course, the man has some interesting ideas of his own now. I spent half an hour with him. In that time, he spoke of only two things. His son, Gilbert if I recall correctly, whom I understand is quite brilliant, even for a Coordinator. He goes on about how he seeks to use science to unlock man's destiny, whatever that means. Heh heh...And people consider my ideas strange. But the man is entitled to his beliefs."_

"_Though there is one man that makes me well uncomfortable. Dr. Mikhail Andras. When I voiced my concerns over the man to Claire, she brushed me off. Saying I was being foolish. But I know what I saw. I caught Andras looking at me with a look of utter disgust."_

"_I don't trust the man..."_

"_Aside from that, things look good here. I feel that we can perhaps accomplish great things here."_

**_May 10, CE 50_**_: "Hibiki and I had a long discussion about humanity's future today. He clings to his foolish belief that humanity's future lies in the Coordinators. That if he can the perfect the process to create Coordinators, future generations of Coordinators will become perfect. 'Minds smarter than geniuses', bodies stronger than Olympic athletes.' as he put it. They will be the first step towards the next level on the evolutionary ladder."_

"_He's wrong. We Coordinators are but a stepping stone. The SEED is a part of mankind's future. But I think that's not the only part I've found. A few weeks after Claire and I published our theory on the SEED Factor, a blind priest named Malchio approached us. I'll admit, I had expected the man to tear into us for writing the article. Instead, he believed in our work. And it was during our conversation that we discussed other phenomena that may be linked to the SEED. He brought up things I had never even considered: A high degree of spatial awareness, precognitive abilities, telepathic abilities, and other unexplained abilities among certain humans."_

"_That is when I thought, 'What if the SEED Factor and all of those unusual abilities are branches of the same mutation, the mutation that will lead us the next step up the evolutionary ladder? And with the advancements in Genetics and the rise of the Coordinators, we have the chance to speed up our climb up the ladder."_

"_Naturally, Hibiki laughed at the idea and said that I was just taken in by 'fringe' science and that it wouldn't lead anywhere."_

"_Jackass."_

"_But Claire and I have tolerated far, far worse. I'll endure my peers'...disapproval, if it means a chance to prove my theories true."_

**_March 24, CE 51_**_: "Our research has been going smoothly. We've discovered several genetic markers that are linked to these mutations. Oddly, only a few are linked to the SEED Factor. Perhaps my initial theories were wrong. Or perhaps the SEED Factor has evolved the farthest from its origin. More research is needed."_

"_There was also something interesting today. With the ongoing renovations, I've been getting lost quite frequently. I happened to discover a room I had never seen before. Inside were a number of frozen fetuses in capsules. Curious to what this room was, I hacked a computer terminal inside the room. All of the fetuses were labeled Al Da Flaga Number 002, Al Da Flaga Number 003, Al Da Flaga Number 004, and so on."_

"_They were clones, a lot of them. And I recognized the name of the late industrialist Al Da Flaga. Curious about these clones, I began to study their DNA on the computer. Some of the markers were present in their DNA. In fact, they have the most makers present in their blood than anyone I've studied to date."_

"_But apparently my hacking didn't go unnoticed. Just as I as logged out of the computer, Hibiki arrived. I figured that he was going to yell at me and possibly throw both me and Claire out of the lab. Instead, he explained that these were the clones of Al Da Flaga, the man funding the labs. Even after his death. Apparently all he had in return was an army of clones. The man believed that he could live forever though these clones. When he died, the first clone would take his place. When that one died, the second clone would take his place and so on."_

"_What a fool. Cloning was outlawed for a reason. It didn't work. The clones were born the same genetic age as their donor was when the samples were taken. A clone of a thirty year old would be born with a genetic age of thirty. When it reached twenty, they'd be fifty genetically._

"_Their lives will be pitifully short."_

"_I asked Hibiki if I could study the clones' DNA for my project. He agreed and even offered me some of the clones. They meant nothing to him. But to me, they could be the key to everything."_

**_August 10, CE 51_**_: "Things have been progressing far better than I had expected. I've left Claire, Keiko, and Yushiro to study the DNA and identify the genetic markers linked to these mutations, while I have taken to resuming the work we did before we moved to Mendel: the study of the people with these markers themselves."_

"_I've realized that my early theories on the SEED Factor and the mutations were wrong. While they appear to share certain genetic markers, they are, in fact, entirely separate from each other. Having one doesn't mean one will have the other as well. But both seem to be more prevalent among the entire population than I first thought. Yet few ever display either. Perhaps for most, an external factor is required. But what?"_

"_I am now more confident than ever that if we discover the secrets behind these mysteries, we will have the key to humanity's future as a species, from Naturals and Coordinators to a new type of being."_

"_Hmm...Newtype...Yes... I like that. That's what they shall be called. Newtypes."_

**_October 15, CE 51_**_: I was right! The information we've gained in these past months from Da Flaga's DNA has opened up all new possibilities! We've managed to locate most, if not all of the genetic markers linked to the SEED Factor and Newtypes."_

"_Needless to say, everyone is quite ecstatic in the lab. Everything we have worked for is coming together. We expect to begin experimenting early next year. And that will be the difficult matter..."_

"_Most people don't realize that George Glenn was the first true Coordinator. There were dozens of children before that could be considered Coordinators that came before him. But no one remembers them. Nor do they remember those that came before Glenn and didn't survive..."_

"_Let's hope that I don't lose as many..."_

**_January 20, CE 52_**_: "Things are progressing smoothly so far. We are almost ready to begin. In a couple of weeks, we'll begin. I must admit, I am quite nervous. I wonder if the scientists that created the process to create Coordinators felt this way went they began their experiments. Do I have the right to do this? Should I be doing this, unnaturally speeding up something that should occur naturally?"_

"_No. We've come this far. We must see it through."_

_"Concerns have come up concerning the SEED Factor genetic markers, which have been found to be more prevalent than the Newtype genetic markers, mainly in NASA. I wonder why that is. Still, we need to see this project through, even if the SEED Factor is more common than Newtype abilities."_

**_January 24, CE 52_**_: "Hibiki claims he's perfected his artificial womb and asking that everyone that can, help out with his 'Ultimate Coordinator' Project. I have opted to stay out of it, as did most of the leaders of the other projects. Hibiki was disappointed but understanding. We have our own projects to worry about."_

"_Plus I just don't believe in the artificial womb. Especially if the track record of the previous versions are any indication. Lives must be born. Not manufactured."_

**_February 4, CE 52_**_: The first generation has been seeded. We've impregnated twelve volunteers. Once the embryos reach the proper stage, we will begin the genetic enhancements."_

"_Hibiki's lost two embryos in his artificial wombs already. So far, it looks like he's got another round of failures coming."_

**_April 27, CE 52_**_: "The pregnancies have been difficult for the mothers so far. Two backed out and the fetuses were aborted. But all things considering, the project is going smoothly. We've moved the mothers into the labs, where they're being monitored at all times by several members of my staff. I'm not taking any chances."_

**_July 13, CE 52_**_: "Things have not gone smoothly. There have been two miscarriages in the last week. I don't understand what went wrong. We were monitoring the women closely. What they ate. The amount of daily activity they performed. What medications they received. There is no reason for this to have happened."_

"_Fortunately, none of the mother's died. That would have caused some major problems for us had any of the mothers died. But-"_

"_Sorry to interrupt Doctor, but we've lost subject 010."_

"_And the mother?"_

"_She's survived."_

"_Alright. Have the fetus brought here for study immediately."_

"_Yes Doctor."_

"_Make that three miscarriages in the last week...I...I'll finish this later."_

**_October 29, CE 52_**_: "This first generation has been nothing but a spectacular failure. We've had three more miscarriages, bringing the total to six. And the four children that were born...were born deformed…Physically and neurologically."_

"_I had them euthanized. They shouldn't suffer because of my mistakes. But I swear, I will study my mistakes and solve them. I don't want any more children to suffer like that."_

**_January 21, CE 53_**_: "We're still desperately trying to find every conceivable factor that could have contributed to failures of the first generation. It has been difficult to say the least."_

"_But we're not the only ones. As I predicted, Hibiki has become stalled under more failures. But the man has stubbornly refused to throw in the towel. He recently told me that with each failure, he comes one step closer to success."_

"_Personally, I don't see any success coming from that project in the near future."_

**_July 1, CE 53_**_: "I believe we've corrected the errors that caused the failures of the first generation. But I'm hesitant to try again on human subjects. I want to make sure I get it right this time, even if it means years of work. But much of my staff, including my wife, are urging me to start the second generation of test subjects. They believe that we won't get anywhere without more testing. But I honestly don't know what to do now."_

"_But they aren't the only ones. Hibiki and many of the others are looking down on me and my work more. I believe back when I was doing the first experiment, they may have actually believed that I may actually be right. But now they laugh at me and mock me behind my back., though Hibiki might actually be pleased at my failure. He's been trying to get me to abandon my research and work on his project, which still has yet to produce any real results as well."_

"_Wait and study more, or push on and see what happens. What should I do?"_

**_July 8, CE 53_**_: "Yushiro has recently found out that his wife, Ami, is pregnant. They've volunteered their unborn child as a test subject. We were all stunned by this. It's one thing to have a woman off the street volunteer, it's another to have someone you know quite well volunteer. But they are fully aware of the risks and willing to risk it."_

"_If they're willing to take that risk, than I must push on. I must stop worrying. Risks are a part of life. We...I must take them if we are to succeed. I've been too afraid of repeating my mistakes. The only way science will ever advance is if we take risks. If I don't succeed, then at least, I'll have laid down the foundation for future scientists to continue and prefect."_

**_July 13, CE 53_**_: "It's been done. The second generation has begun. Ami and eleven other women have agreed to it. One of the other women is Via Hibiki's younger sister, Caridad Yamato. Tomorrow, we'll be beginning the enhancements of Ami's child. The other mothers have another week or so before we begin their enhancements."_

Kira tensed. He was the Yamato's only child. He knew how it was going to end.

"_We're taking a different approach this time. Rather than performing all of the enhancements in a single procedure, we're spreading it out of the course of a week. Hopefully, this will allow both mother and embryo to better adapt to what we've done."_

"_Also, Hibiki has become more insistent that the staff of other projects help out with his project. He claims that he's on the verge of a major breakthrough. I have told him that my project has reached a critical stage and that diverting resources to his project would damage my own project. He relented, but has applied even more pressure to the other projects."_

"_That jackass is too caught up his own project for his own good. He doesn't give a damn about everyone else's project. Probably never did. He just wanted the best scientists in the field of genetics in this building so that he can use us to further his own research."_

**_November 25, CE 53_**_: "So far things have progress much smoother than last time. The pregnancies have been difficult but less than the pregnancies before them. And only a single miscarriage. Not bad considering the early miscarriage rates of Coordinator births."_

"_But I am growing concerned for Caridad. Not because she's having problems. Far from it. But I fear she's becoming attached to the child in her womb. When she first volunteered, she felt that she wouldn't make a good mother and felt she was too young to. And I told her, as I told all the other women, do not get attached to the child. Due to the fact that most of the volunteers are women who need the money we pay them for volunteering, this hasn't been a major issue. But now I fear that having this child has changed her mind. Her husband, Haruma, has told me that the other day he caught her picking names for her unborn child. This does not bode well for us should she lose the child."_

**_January 20, CE 54_**_: "I haven't updated this log in few weeks. Things have been quite hectic as of late."_

"_Hibiki has been demanding that everyone help out with his Ultimate Coordinator Project or he'll cut the funding to everyone else's projects. Most of us have taken to calling him, the Iron Womb Tyrant or more 'unpleasant' names behind his back. Yushiro thinks that Hibiki subconsciously wishes he had been born a woman so he could bear children and his project is really an extension of that wish. And that a night, he sneaks into the lab and cuddles his artificial wombs."_

"_Heh heh heh...ha ha ha..."_

"_But I've relented to his demands. I've divided my staff in two and put them on rotations. One half works on Hibiki's project for a week while the other half works on our project. Once the week is done, we switch places. Not the most efficient way of doing things, but we have little choice in the matter. Hibiki controls the lab and the money. We have to bow to his wishes."_

"_Hibiki is so wasteful. He's going through embryos and fetuses like there's no tomorrow. Few fetuses survive to an advanced stage of development, but he always aborts them anyway. He claims it's to ensure that the Ultimate Coordinator will be the best."_

Kira grimaced at the actions of his biological father. Lacus, seeing his reaction, reached out and held Kira's hand. Kira gently squeezed her hand back.

"_I still believe that Coordinators are only a stepping stone, not the future of humanity. Newtypes are the future. Perfecting Coordinators will not improve humanity as a whole."_

"_But he, like a many of my colleges, view Newtypes as just a fantasy. However, some of my colleges have become intrigued. Joseph, in particular, has become very interested in my Newtype research."_

"_Speaking of him, his son, Gilbert, has recently graduated from university. Joseph has offered him a position in the labs here. To my surprise, Gilbert asked to be put on my project. I accepted his request. He may be a teenager, but he is quite brilliant. I am curious to see how well he does here."_

"_Also, the situation with Caridad has not improved. I tried to talk to her. But she's become fixated on becoming a mother. She wants this child now. I've warned her that there's the possibility that her child may not survive the pregnancy or worse. But she doesn't care. It's her child and she will raise them regardless of the outcome. Both Via and Haruma have tried to convince her that things could go wrong as well. But she refuses to see it. I hope for her sake, that they are just over worrying about it."_

**_March 11, CE 54_**_: "Most of the second generation has been born with mixed results. Only Ami's child has yet to be born. While four children were born safely and without any deformities, six were either stillborn or just as badly deformed as the last generation. Among those six was Caridad's son."_

"_While the child was born successfully, it suffered severe physical and neurological deformities. The child would have lived a short, pained life. Haruma and I agreed that the child's suffering should be ended quickly as a mercy. But Caridad refused. I can still hear her screams of 'Murderers'."_

"_I...I...I just can't do this right now. Signing off."_

**_March 20, CE 54_**_: "Ami died giving birth yesterday. It had been a long and difficult birth and in the end, her body gave out. But she did live long enough to see her daughter for the first and last time. She named her Misuumi before passing on."_

"_I had thought Yushiro would blame me for what happened. But he didn't. He told that they knew the risks and accepted them."_

"_Unfortunately, most of the special enhancements we created didn't take in most of the children. They are little more than Coordinators. But the initial looks at Misuumi's DNA have given me hope. Some of the markers didn't take, but a number of them did."_

"_Not quite the ideal Artificial Newtype I had envisioned, but a likely prototype of my vision."_

"_We are close. So very close. I just need to prefect it."_

**_March 26, CE 54_**_: "Damn him! Damn that Iron Womb Tyrant!"_

"_I've been trying to figure what exactly has been causing the problems we've been experiencing when Hibiki said that it was the mother's fault! He had the gull to say that it was the mother's fault that we had limited success in our experiments. He then added that had we used his artificial womb, we would have succeeded by now. That his machines are the only way to succeed."_

"_Barely kept myself from decking him right there. He's lucky Yushiro wasn't in today. Or he would have killed Hibiki."_

"_But as much of a jackass he is, Hibiki did raise a point that I had not considered: the parents of the child. And I wasn't the only one to realize that. Gilbert did as well. We need to study the DNA of the parents of the children that lived. If there's something linking them all together, than we can determine which parents could successfully give birth to an Artificial Newtype."_

"_And Gilbert raised another point I had ignored. All of the parents of the child have been Naturals. We haven't tried it on a Coordinator couple. If the parents are Coordinators, or at least the mother, it would likely increase the chances of a successful birth."_

"_If we can get that down, we can then work on finding a way for anyone to have a Newtype child."_

**_April 21, CE 54_**_: "Something rather interesting as happened. A week ago, Yushiro reported several unusual instances involving his daughter. He claimed that there had a few instances where he instinctively knew his daughter was hungry without her giving any physical indications. He described it as, 'I would be holding her when this sudden feeling that she was hungry entered my mind. She wouldn't cry or give any other indication that she was hungry, yet somehow I knew she was hungry. Curious, Claire and I took care of her for much of the past week. And we both experienced it a few times ourselves. But it only seemed to work if one of us was in physical contact with her. But it only happened a few times. The rest of the time, she cried like a normal child."_

"_There was one other instance of unusual behavior. On Saturday, we took her for a stroll through a nearby park. For most of the trip, she had been quiet. But when we approached a playground full of playing children, she suddenly started giggling like someone was playing with her despite the fact she was still in a stroller. Perhaps she was feeling all of the positive emotions from the other children."_

"_Part of me thinks that these are signs of Newtype abilities. But the more rational part of me says that I don't have enough information to determine whether or not she has developed such abilities."_

"_Yushiro brought her to the lab so he and Gilbert ran some tests on her. Oddly, she wouldn't stop crying the moment he brought her in. No matter what we did, she wouldn't calm down. They did manage to perform some tests. There was some slight odd activity in her brain, but beyond that, nothing out of the ordinary. Regardless, we shall keep a close eye on her as she grows up."_

**_May 19, CE 54_**_: "We've done it. We've located the genetic markers that will determine how likely a child with the Newtype genes will be successfully born to a couple. Out of curiosity, I ran a check on the DNA of everyone working in the labs. Some of the results were surprising. Yushiro had a many of the markers in his DNA. His late wife had only a few, which may have contributed to her death. Hibiki and his wife share a large number of the markers needed, though I haven't told him that. His ego is big enough as it is."_

"_...And both Claire and I have a large number of markers, but mostly SEED Factor markers. Something I am less than pleased about, for one simple reason."_

"_Claire is pregnant."_

"_She hasn't told me yet. I've seen her exhibit the early signs. I know she's going to asked me to use our child as a test subject."_

"_But I need to stay impartial. If my child becomes a test subject, how can I remain impartial and unbiased?"_

"_But on the other hand, I have the perfect conditions right here, right now: parents with the ideal DNA and a Coordinator mother to increase chances of a successful birth."_

"_I need to think on this matter."_

**_May 21, CE 54_**_: "Hibiki's increased the pressure on everyone. He says there's not enough funding to go around. Unless the other projects start showing real success, he's going to start closing them down. However, should they assist in the completion of his project, it would speed things up. Which means the funds would flow again that much sooner."_

"_In other words, stop your projects for now and help me with mine and once it's complete, I'll give you back your funding."_

"_When I confronted him about this, Hibiki laughed in my face, saying that the time for quack theories is over. And that only real science belongs here. Either I bring him results or he's closing me down."_

"_Damn him! All that matters to him is his dammed Ultimate Coordinator Project. Everyone can go to hell unless they help him. We're practically there but he refuses to see it."_

"_The blind fool. He's pushed me to this."_

"_I'm going through with it. If he wants results, I'll give it to him. I won't just create a Newtype for him; I'll create the greatest Newtype that will ever be born!"_

"_I will not allow Hibiki or anyone else trample on my dream! I will show them all that my theories are not quack theories! My child will be a Perfect Newtype!"_

Liz, who knew her brother's birthday, had already done the math. She turned to her brother, a fearful, questioning expression. Chris only nodded his head once, not looking at her.

**_June 19, CE 54_**_: "The Mendel Labs now have only two projects running instead of the dozens it once had: Hibiki's and mine. All of the other project teams have either left or joined one of our two teams."_

"_Hibiki has become less than pleased at this. The mild respect we held for each other is gone. Now, our rivalry has become vicious. Neither of us is willing to let the other win. It's a competition to see who can create the next step of human being. And I'm pleased to say that his latest prototype is another failure, though the boy has survived while those that came before him have not. Hibiki was furious at his latest failure to say the least. I understand he's had the child dumped at an orphanage."_

"_Whereas everything is running smoothly with my project so far."_

**_August 14, CE 54_**_: "Keiko Itsuno has given birth to a healthy baby Coordinator boy, Nisha. She will be taking time off to raise him with her husband. I hope things all go well."_

**_September 22, CE 54_**_: "Hibiki's getting desperate. He's following in my footsteps. Via had recently become pregnant with twins. So what does Hibiki do, he takes one embryo and puts it in his artificial womb."_

_"Luckily, Keiko Itsuno was able to get him to place the embryo back into the mother. How she did that, I can only imagine. But something interesting was mentioned. It seems that Hibiki is not the only one funding the lab. NASA apparently has all the money that Da Flaga had amassed over his life, including half of the funding money. And she threatened to have NASA cut off the funding if the one embryo was not put back into Via, his wife. Needless to say, he did just that."_

Kira's eyes widened. It was true. He had nearly been born from an artificial womb.

"_It is a truly odd thing. To have a twin sibling that was nearly grown in an entirely separate womb. Would they still be twins? Could the child in that machine be truly considered born? Or would it be considered manufactured?"_

"_Whatever the case, I imagine that any child born of that machine would likely suffer psychological problems if they ever learned how they came into this world."_

"_This action has also strain his relationship with Via, which isn't all that surprising. From what I've heard, she didn't exactly agree to having her child placed in that machine."_

_"I was more than pleased to see someone put that Iron Womb Tyrant back into his place."_

"_As to my project, things are progressing smoothly. Clarie is having some difficulties, but nothing serious."_

**_Janurary 8, CE55_**_: "It seems that Via and Hibiki are having serious problems, far more than I had first realized. Via is furious at Hibiki for taking her second child. I caught the two of them arguing in a hallway. It sounds like she's done with his whole project and him. I won't be surprised if she sued for divorce. Hell, I'd be willing to testify for her."_

"_The jackass deserves it. I would never do such a thing to Claire. She willing volunteered for this. Via didn't."_

"_Speaking of Clarie, she's doing fine and is expecting any day now."_

**_January 12, CE 55_**_: "It's happening. It's finally happening! Claire went into labor a few hours ago. The labor hasn't ended yet. But I'm sure she'll make it, as will our child."_

"_They have to..."_

**_January 13, CE 55_**_: "It's finally over... I nearly lost them, both of them. But it's over now."_

"_At 2:37 am, on January 13th, Claire gave birth to a healthy baby boy. We named him Christopher, after Claire's late father."_

Cagalli, Athrun, and Lacus turned to Chris, stunned by this. He had closed his eyes and had a slight grimace on his face, his right hand resting on the bridge of his nose.

"_I should be happy. They both made it through alright. Everything likely went has planned, but I still need to check Chris's DNA. But I haven't done it yet."_

"_All I can think about are Via's words to her husband form a few days ago. 'What is this all for? For his sake or for yours? Will this bring our child happiness?'"_

"_I need some time to think about things."_

**_January 29, CE 55_**_: "I'm closing down the project. I've realized that I've lost touch with why I was doing what I was going. We all did."_

"_What I had tried to make my son into, failed. While he does have the genetic makers, he hasn't displayed anything else like Misuumi has. Scientifically, he's a failure. In fact, it seems that the SEED Factor markers took instead. But I don't care."_

"_All I can think of now, is my arrogance and those children that suffered because of it. I had wanted to help humanity. Instead, my arrogance and vanity led me to playing God, led me to believing that I could speed up humanity's evolution."_

"_I never stopped to consider if Newtypes were truly the next step in human evolution or just a new, separate species of man."_

"_No matter. I am through with creating Newtypes. Yushiro and some of the others have tried to convince me to stay and continue working. They wish to continue working but I have no desire to stay. I think I understand now why Misuumi cried the entire time she was here. She could tell what this place really was: a man-made Hell. We strove to make life better for all of humanity. Instead, in our arrogance, we created our own little Hell, where the most innocent of people suffered, for no reason beyond our own arrogance."_

"_We're going to move back to ORB to continue our original research: studying those with the SEED Factor and natural born Newtypes."_

"_Never again will I set foot in this hellhole."_

**_January 30, CE 55_**_: "A change of plans. Via has asked us to stay. She needs our help to get her children away from Hibiki. So I will stomach my dislike for this place for a while longer. It is the least I can do, as a means to work off some small fraction of the sins I've committed."_

"_We can't do anything now with that man in charge at the moment. But we will bide our time for now until after they are born. Then we will strike."_

**_May 18, CE 55_**_: "The twins were born today. From Via's womb, a girl. Cagalli. From his brief time in that machine, but from Via's womb, a boy. Kira. Hibiki's so called Ultimate Coordinator. But the boy is now considered a normal Coordinator instead, and he is."_

Cagalli gasped. Why they were here suddenly made sense. Then she gasped again, realizing everything that they had just heard. She wasn't the only one. Athrun, Lacus, and Liz had their own gasps of surprise.

"_We can't move just yet. But we have it all planned out. On June sixth, while Hibiki is at the lab, we'll just take the twins and leave. We've already booked at flight to Heliopolis. My younger brother and his wife moved there a few months ago. Then we'll head to the ORB homeland. I've spoken with my father, and he has arranged a meeting between us and Lord Uzumi. Hopefully, he'll help us hide the twins from Hibiki."_

**_May 29, CE 55_**_: "Dammit...I was right all along! Andras was up to something! He's working for Blue Cosmos! He told them everything we were doing there and they came to kill us all. Hibiki and Via are dead. As are much of the staff. _

"_...Yushiro is dead too. He shielded me from one of the gunman. I would have died as well if it wasn't for the fact that my father had taught me how to fight and shoot a gun when I was a child. I don't know if Joseph or any of the others managed to escape."_

"_But there is some good news to this. Both Claire and Christopher are safe, as are Cagalli and Kira. When the attack on the lab happened, I knew they would head after them. I managed to escape during the attack and raced home. After I grabbed Claire and Chris, we went to Hibiki's residence. Kira and Cagalli were being cared for by Caridad and her husband. As we made our escape, a couple of Blue Cosmos thugs attacked. Fortunately, we lost them, but barely."_

"_But I couldn't fulfill Yushiro's dying wish. We couldn't stop to get Misuumi. It was too dangerous. I pray she's safe but there's nothing more I can do."_

"_Damn Andras! Damn those Blue Cosmos bastards!"_

"_We've been hiding out for a good six hours now. It's not safe for us here anymore. But undoubtedly, they have men keeping an eye on the spaceports. But I've got a plan. I'm going to trick the lab's computers into thinking there's been a biohazard outbreak, at the highest level. This will trigger the emergency evacuation alert in the colony. People will be rushing to the spaceports and it's unlikely that the men watching the ports would stick around during a colonywide biohazard evacuation. After we escape, we'll head to Heliopolis and then ORB as planned. We'll be safe there. David Dante, signing off."_

With that, the recording ended. "After that, the seven of you entered Heliopolis for two weeks until my son, Claire and the Yamatos were able to take you to the ORB homeland. That is when I first met the three of you. I took them to Lord Uzumi. We all agreed that we needed to keep you hidden from those that would either seek to duplicate what happened at Mendel, or kill you what you are. So we did everything in our power to keep you safe. I believe you already know what happened next. Lord Uzumi adopted Cagalli while the Yamatos took Kira to Heliopolis. And my son and his wife took Chris to Junius Seven. There, they, as he said they would, continued their original research."

"But why separate us?" Kira asked.

"To help keep you safe. Blue Cosmos would be searching for twins. If we kept you apart, it would help decrease the chances of them not realizing who you really were." Samuel said.

"Wait. This is crazy! Newtypes, Ultimate Coordinators, artificial wombs. It's all nuts!" Cagalli said, completely stunned by this whole revelation. "This can't be real!"

"It is." Samuel said, pulling out an old photograph. "The labs at Mendel were started for the betterment of mankind. Instead, that dream became warped by their arrogance and ambition. They say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. And nowhere was that more true than Mendel. Everything you have heard was true."

Heero was just as shocked as anyone else in that room, and it was clearly evident on his face, which was normally void of any emotion. So it was a first for him as well. "That…is the worst that I have ever heard of…Even OZ back in my old universe was not that insane…" he murmured.

Those who had been told Heero's past all knew what he was talking about. But to everyone else, the statement was incomprehensible.

Samuel approached Cagalli and handed her the photo. "This was taken on New Year's Eve CE 52." he explained.

The photo was of a New Year's Eve party. Cagalli instantly recognized one person in the photo, the woman who was her birth mother. Next to her was a blond haired man with amber eyes. Just like her. Liz leaned over to look at the photo. Her eyes widened as her finger pointed at another couple in the photo. "That's mom and dad!"

The couple was smiling with champagne glassed raised in their hands. The man had dark brown hair and green eyes while the women's hair was a lighter brown and she had gray eyes.

Cagalli shook her head. "I...I...This is just so unbelievable."

"I know. I didn't believe it myself when I first heard it. It's true." Samuel replied.

"Then just what am I?" Kira asked, lost and confused.

"Kira. You are you. That's all that matters. Whether you're a Coordinator, Natural or something else, doesn't matter." Lacus said, still holding his hand. "You are a kind person Kira. That's who you are."

Kira stared into Lacus's eyes. "Lacus...I..."

Samuel cleared his throat. "Ah...Young love... Would you like us to leave the room for a moment?"

Both teens' reddened in embarrassment as Samuel chuckled. He then turned to his grandchild, his expression turning serious. "Chris, Liz, how are you taking this?"

"I...I'll be fine." Liz answered. "It's a lot to take in."

Chris opened his eyes and looked up. "I'll be fine as well. I just needed to know who my parents were. And nothing's changed. They are still the people I thought they were despite what they've done. But there is one thing that is bugging me."

"What?"

"What happened to that girl, Misuumi?"

Samuel frowned. "After the authorities realized it was a fake biohazard, your parents tried to find out what happened to her. But she disappeared." he replied. "That was one of your father's biggest regrets. He never forgave himself for not finding her. Any other questions?"

"No. I think you've answered everything." Kira said. "Thank you."

Samuel nodded. "It was my pleasure. You deserved to learn the truth about this whole mess."

Patrick Zala had a frown on his face at hearing all of that. "It's hard to accept it myself, but at the same time, it explains a lot actually. Mostly about Commander Le Creuset, because it seems he happens to be a clone of this Al da Flaga."

Still, it did not matter. All that mattered as the defeat of both ZAFT and the EA/Blue Cosmos/LOGOs.

* * *

_NASA missile Silos_

Technicians worked to hook up the NJCs, as they were now known, to the missiles and the systems that powered the warheads.

"Is that warhead hooked up yet?!" a voice shouted over the din of noise.

"Thing's almost ready!" another voice, female, shouted back.

_"WELL, HOOK THE DAMN THING UP ALREADY!"_ the first voice, a male one, shouted in anger.

The crew began to hook up the opened warhead to the NJC that was inserted in it already. Wires were hooked into the power source, with the NJC the leading component. It was hooked into the nuclear fission section, which then flashed to show its new status, which was _'ARMED'_, for the first time in over a year.

The techies and workers all cheered when they saw that single word. They were back in action!

People began to hook up the other warheads that were now lying around, each one flashing that same status one after another. Lights showing the word _'ARMED_' all ignited, a sea of red coming into fruition. It was a sight that many had not expected to see in years, but now it was possible to see at last.

Techs, some having been at work for over three days non-stop installing the NJCs, looked back at the missile stockpile they still had to go through. It seemed to be too big a task for the teams, but they knew that if they applied themselves, they could get many more missiles outfitted with the NJCs than they even knew.

It was just the way things were, but they had a job to do, and an important one at that. One that they could not fail…

* * *

_Washington D.C._

_White House_

President Hilson read over the reports on the NJC installations that were taking place at all the missile silos within the country as well as at military bases.

The project was on track, with no signs of slowing down any time soon. She sighed with relief. So far, so good…

But deep down, the woman knew that they were taking a big risk by allowing such technology to be installed on their missiles. It would make them a target for attack by Blue Cosmos/LOGOs, but if the idea was correct, then they would not even try to attack for fear of a nuclear retaliation.

That would keep the Earth Forces in check, but as for the PLANTs, President Hilson was unsure. The PLANTs would either be fearful of them, or claim that NASA was their protector and deity, which he wanted to avoid at all costs. Either that, or they would attack NASA, claiming that the alliance was in on trying to wipe them out and that NASA was an ally of Blue Cosmos/LOGOs, which they weren't.

The woman sighed, unsure of what to do. She knew that he could not tell the PLANTs, and had no plans to any time soon. It was the fact that NASA had such power again that made her worried about the repercussions. They were now in a prime position to affect the world's events, but they were also in a prime position to be attacked. That was why the project was kept under wraps, with no one, _inside or outside the country_, knowing about it.

NASA's leader sat down, head in her hands, hoping that the war would come to an end before the missiles were used.

It seemed unlikely at that point though, and she knew it.

Looking back at the picture of George Washington, President Hilson could only wonder what the first president would do. She sighed, turning away from the painting. It was just too early to tell what would happen.

She glanced outside in the direction of the Pentagon, wondering how they were going to deal with the situational stress of now having functional nuclear missiles again. And that was what they were doing exactly.

* * *

_Pentagon_

Defense Secretary Keller looked over the data of the missiles being equipped with NJCs, which showed the project was moving along at a suitable pace.

It was good so far, but the real question of the day was if they would be used. Considering the fact that the Earth Forces had the same data, it would not be long before nukes were launched at the PLANTs again. But given that _NASA_ also had that data, they would be able to defend the PLANTs once more.

It seemed that things had gone back to the way they were before the Bloody Valentine attack, except for the N-Jammers being in use. That was a huge step in the wrong direction. In fact, that scared him and everyone else involved.

Keller sighed. The timetable for the installation was moving closer to completion, but at a cost. They had no way of knowing what would happen now that both sides had nuclear weapons again. The Earth Forces would no doubt fire on the PLANTs with nukes once more, but this time, NASA would be ready for it.

Unlike last time, they were more than aware of what was going to happen with the Earth Forces this time, so they would be able to launch the nuclear missiles to save the PLANTs accordingly, as well as stop the EA nukes as well.

Attacking the PLANTs with nukes was not unheard of, and NASA wanted to stop it. That was the reason why they would use their own missiles in response. And ZAFT was not going to stop them from using those weapons.

* * *

_Dominion_

Ensign Lockhart looked over eher weapon, making sure that it was in working condition for when the mission came to its conclusion.

Her contact was on the line as well. _"There has been a snag you know."_

"I know. The Earth Forces now have the ability to use nukes as well, right?"

Her contact nodded. _"Yes, but they lack the mineral that is needed to make the NJCs work effectively. Still, that will not stop them from trying to get their hands on it from us."_

"Then just deny it to them." She replied.

_"It is not that easy. Blue Cosmos/LOGOs will put pressure on us to give it to them, both politically and economically. Even if we did deny it to them, they would still try to find a way to get us to give it up."_ Her contact replied.

"Then stick by it, no matter what." Ensign Lockhart countered.

Her contact sighed. _"Alright…But there is one thing that I was wondering about."_

"Yes?"

_"Are you aware of the SEED Factor theory?"_ her contact inquired.

Ensign Lockhart raised an eyebrow. "Yes, why?"

Her contact had a serious look on her face. _"A study was done not too long ago, and we found that the genetic markers for the SEED Factor are present in a large number of American citizens, but we have no idea why. You were one of those with the markers. As am I."_

That got her off-guard. "What?! I have the SEED Factor?"

_"It would appear so."_ Her contact mused.

"Then that would explain how you were able to defeat two ZAFT Coordinators in combat…" She realized.

Her contact nodded. _"Indeed. Still, this is very unique to many people in the nation. Many, upon interviews, have admitted to seeing a small seed-like object exploding in their mind's eye before everything is seen in a clearer fashion. Many such instances have been reported by soldiers mostly, which makes me believe that the SEED is triggered in combat."_

"That _is_ interesting." She noted. "If it comes from combat, then that would mean that we have an edge over anyone else. But I am wondering, does the SEED occur in both Naturals and Coordinators, or just in one group?"

_"That is where it gets interesting. The SEED has been reported by _both_ Natural _and_ Coordinator soldiers and citizens."_ Her contact replied.

"So, the SEED does not care if one is a Natural or a Coordinator. Intriguing." Ensign Lockhart mused. This was big news to him indeed.

But there was still the issue of the war, so the studies would have to wait until it was over.

* * *

_New Juneau_

The NAZAFT commander watched the parts for missile launchers being moved into the areas that were marked for receiving them. Trucks moved the parts around, people guiding the trucks to the appropriate locations.

Workers ran around, receiving orders and carrying them to the appropriate staff, who happened to be on duty in the areas under construction. NAZAFT personnel knew what they were doing was not allowed by the PLANTs, but they were not a PLANT by status anyway. They were a U.S. State and were going to use that status to their advantage, which included having missile sites there.

It was not normal for a PLANT to be armed beyond the use of ships and Mobile Suits, but it was not their problem if the other PLANT colonies did not like it. The people of New Juneau knew that they were American citizens first and foremost, and PLANT citizens second. Of all the Coordinators living in the PLANTs, they were the ones most loyal to their original homeland, or home nation as they liked to put it.

Reflecting on their situation, the NAZAFT commander found many things about it ironic. Unlike what Chairman Hong Fa Wu claimed, NASA was not a nation of deities. The Coordinators living there were not superior to their 'kin' or 'blood brothers and sisters' like he claimed they were. To them, he was nuts. They were just citizens of a normal nation, which like all others, could fall if given the right amount of time and stress.

Yet that was the picture the PLANTs had of them, and NASA was under pressure to live up to those standards, yet they knew that they could not because they were mortal like the rest of the world. And telling the PLANTs could prompt them to attack NASA if they ever knew of the real status that they held.

So, to survive the wrath of the PLANTs, NASA had to live up to impossible standards, which was getting harder and harder each day. The leadership of NASA was under such high pressure that they could not take it much longer.

_'When will we be able to reveal our real status to the PLANTs? When Wu is out of office hopefully…'_ the NAZAFT commander thought as she observed the work underway still.

* * *

_NASA missile silos_

The techs worked around the clock, installing the newly developed NJCs into the old Cold War Era missile warheads that were now functional once more. People were tired, but they knew of the job that had to be done.

Checking the nuclear fusion engines, the techs were able to give those missiles already completed an all-clear for service once more. All systems were green across the board.

Old technology that was being reused in the C.E. Era seemed obsolete, but when it came to the sheer firepower and destructive power of the missiles built during the Cold War, nothing in the C.E. Era could ever hope to outmatch it.

That much they knew. And of all the nations to have developed such powerful weapons, only NASA had retained them in case of an attack from anyone. Using common sense had allowed such weaponry to be retained in the face of the C.E. Era coming into being. It was the only thing that had allowed NASA to prevent the Reconstruction War altogether. Now it was going to protect the rights of Coordinators all over.

American missiles were now being brought out of storage and into use once more. A forklift moved by, carrying a load of missile bodies and another followed, carrying boxes of warheads that were inactive because of the N-Jammers.

"Let's get these suckers back up and running." A techie exclaimed as he looked over the first warhead that he had taken out and opened up. Other techies nodded and ran over to a pile of NJCs that was sitting in the middle of the room.

One lifted up an NJC while another picked up the wiring that was hanging down from the device so that it was not on the floor. They carried it over to the warhead that was opened and put it inside. Plugging in the correct wires, they began the process of reactivating the warhead.

It was thirty minutes before they got the red _ARMED_ signal. But by then, it was already done. The process was still ongoing, but now they had 1/5 of the missile stockpile back in operation. It would take time to bring the whole thing back online, but they knew that they could do it.

Looking up, the techie gave Keller the thumbs-up. It was armed and ready to go. Of course it would be sent to New Juneau as part of a special batch that was made for the colony specifically. But that did not matter.

As the warhead was closed up, other missiles that were already completed were moved via a forklift to a crate that would take them to other silos that needed the missiles. The box was sealed and then moved by lift to an aircraft that would take them to the silos listed on the pilot's sheet.

The missile ordinance crews were already on high alert for any more missiles that were still in need of NJCs. And there were plenty more.

Keller observed the missile techs inserting the NJCs, which were then hooked into the systems that guided the missile and controlled the detonation sequence. A worker looked at the small screen that would show the activation status for a few minutes before it flashed that familiar red _ARMED_ signal.

In a flash of lights, a sea of red was illuminated by the _ARMED_ status flashing on. Each signal indicator flashed on, making the sea of red light grow bigger with each one that came on. It was truly an impressive sight.

The Defense Secretary was in awe at the large number of red _ARMED_ lights that was growing with each passing second before it came to a halt. The sea of red within the missile warehouse was glowing, bathing the area in a red glow that was all too familiar to those within it. The color that bathed the warehouse was that of the red stripe of the American flag.

Keller smiled, knowing what this meant. It was their time to shine once more.

* * *

_Washington D.C._

President Hilson looked out at the White House lawn, where in the distance, she could see the other buildings of the capital. Each was the result of an ideal that the Founding Fathers had seen fit to follow, whether their rulers had wanted them to or not. It was so strange, to be honest.

The PLANTs had encountered something similar, but they had also had Founding Mothers too, in addition to Founding Fathers. And that would not have been possible had the nation not broken away from Britain back in the A.D. Era.

She laughed once. How ironic. The very idea that her home had fought for in the past, the PLANTs did not have to fight for. They had been given it instead. And yet they had the nerve to claim that they had fought to win their freedom. Hardly.

The United States had had no choice _but_ to fight. It was the only way that they had been able to claim independence from their home rulers back then. And that was why the United States respected the rights of others, no matter _who_ they were. They had _fought_ for it, and as a result, never took it for granted.

Most people in the PLANTs had always had freedom, except from the Earth Alliance which had tried to rule them like the colonies back in the A.D. Era. That was when NASA had taken its role as human rights supporters once more.

By supporting the idea of PLANT independence, they had allowed for the PLANTs to be freed from EA control, which was not even the colonies' doing. It had been _NASA_ that had gotten them their freedom and the ability to defend themselves. And it was NASA that had been behind the whole idea in the first place.

The President put her head on her hands as she looked at the flag that was in her office. The red and white striped stood out with the blue field of white stars on it. It was the symbol that was practically worshipped by the PLANTs, and that disturbed her.

It was what made her so willing to be distant from the PLANT leadership, and the idea of being a Coordinator paradise did not sit well with her either. And that last part was far from the truth as anyone could get.

The U.S. was _still_ not a Coordinator paradise, due to high rates of Coordinator unemployment and housing suits that were _still_ being settled, not to mention the high rate of Coordinators being discriminated against, even _with_ the Human Recognition Act of 0034 in effect.

And that was just the beginning of the list.

Still, she could only wonder what was going to happen now, especially since the nuclear missiles were in use once again…

* * *

Kira and friends learn the horrors of Mendel Colony, just as the lull in battle continues for the time being. What awaits now? Read on to find out! :3 Flames, AKA, hate filled/spamming reviews, **_will_** be deleted **_AND/OR_** reported depending on if they are signed or not. Anyway, read and review! ^^


	35. Phase 34: The Nightmare Reborn

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. Nor do I own Martin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: Thanks! :D As for Patrick gaining an MS, no go. Sorry. :( But the next arc, near the end, you will see **a lot** more of Patrick Zala. ;)**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :)**

**A0930: I will explain something to you do you can understand. Cagalli is a SEED user. Kira is a SEED-type, someone with the SEED and Newtype abilities. Chris is a SEED user, as is Liz. Newtypes **CANNOT** manipulate elements or gain superpowers. I am not a fan of superheroes. XP **All** Newtype abilities are **mental**, meaning they can sense each other, communicate with other Newtypes, and control remote-bit weapons called Funnels. The SEED is the opposite, focusing in on precision, while Newtypes are more about awareness of those around them. I hope that helps you understand more. :)**

**Inconsistent Guest: **PLEASE **use a** CONSISTENT** user name, as in the **same user name as last time!** Geez...**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those with an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you are a guest without an account, **PLEASE** put **THE SAME** guest name over and over again so it is easier for me to respond to you. Thanks!**

* * *

Phase Thirty-Four: The Nightmare Reborn

_Ptolemaeus Lunar Base_

Azrael entered the conference room. There was a table lined with chairs in the center of the room and a large screen on the far wall. He sat down, facing the screen. He pushed the call button on the phone sitting on the table. "I'm ready."

A moment later, the screen turned on. The leaders of Earth Alliance appeared on the screen.

"Ah. Gentlemen, I trust you've gotten the data I've obtained, as well as my proposal."

"_Yes. It's quite a coup you've managed Azrael, obtaining the data on the N-Jammer Canceler as well as functioning N-Jammer Cancelers from NASA. However, we're not sure about your idea of an all-out nuclear attack."_

_"Indeed. The energy crisis here on Earth has reached critical levels. We should focus on that first."_

That would not do. They needed to deal with the Coordinators first. They were, after all, the biggest threat to humanity. "How can you say that especially at a time like this?!" Azrael said, slamming his on the table. "If we don't attack now, we're not going to win this war! Once we've dealt with the Coordinators, we'll be able to devote all of our time and resources to solving the energy crisis. Besides, we've used nuclear warheads in the past. So why hesitate now?"

_"You did that on your own."_

Azrael shrugged. "Nuclear weapons aren't something you just collect. They're powerful weapons. We must use them. After all, we spent good making them so that we could use them. Let's hurry up and fire them. And then this war will all be over. So what will it be gentlemen?"

* * *

_Several Weeks Later_

Natarle and her newest communications officer, Flay, watched as the spaceport was filled with activity. Ensign Lockhart was there as well, also observing the actions. Crews were rushing supplies, mobile suits and mobile armors onto the various warships. At the far end of the hanger, Natarle could see special cargo containers being loaded onto the _Doolittle_ and three other Agamemnon-class ships. As Captain of the _Dominion_, she had been briefed on the full details of Operation Peacemaker. While the main assault force distracted the Boaz defense forces, the _Dominion_ and the Peacemaker Force slip through and attack Boaz with nuclear warheads, but there was a catch: NASA had not given them the NJCs they so desperately needed. That was why they had stolen a couple of shipments, so they could be used by the Earth Alliance.

She didn't like the plan. But she was a soldier. She had her orders and her duty to carry them out. Even if she didn't like them.

_"The Sixth and Seventh Orbital Fleets will leave orbit and commence a direct assault on the defense satellite Boaz at 1200 hours tomorrow."_ a voice said over the intercom.

Soon it would begin. The question was now, how would it end?

* * *

_Washington D.C._

President Hilson read over the reports on the nuclear warhead reactivation project, pleased with the way things were going. It had been a few weeks since the first actual test of a missile using an NJC to protect the power source, the nuclear fission process. The missile had worked like it had three centuries ago.

The test had prompted a round of cheers from all those involved, all the way up to the highest levels of the government. She had been one of those cheering at the results.

It had been a sight to behold, seeing the nuclear explosion from an old missile impacting the ruins of a ghost town in NASA's own borders. It was not like they could attack an old town that was abandoned outside their own boundaries and within EA borders without an attack being launched at them, after all.

But then there had been a shipment of NJCs stolen not too long after, and by Blue Cosmos supporters no less. Even though the ones responsible had been arrested, the NJCs had been sent to the Earth Forces by then.

The president leaned back, setting down the project reports and picking up the latest report from New Juneau, which had picked up EA forces activity not too far from the L4 colony remains. It was most likely the Blue Cosmos/LOGOs terrorist group that was in motion, no doubt preparing to use nuclear missiles on the PLANTs once more.

Of course, they were still testing their own missiles, which meant that NASA would not be able to defend the PLANTs until the testing was completed. And that would take time.

She frowned slightly. She knew that New Juneau had a small stock of nuclear missiles as well, but those had yet to be tested as well, so there was no real weapon that they could use to defend the PLANTs and defeat the EA forces that were heading towards the colonies.

It put him in a difficult position, as she could not use the missiles before the testing was completed, but it also meant that the PLANTs had no real defense. And with that stolen shipment now being used by the Earth Forces, it left her in a predicament.

What was she going to do?

* * *

_ZAFT Space Fortress Boaz_

_The Next Day_

"Come on! Let's push this Natural scum back to the Moon!" a GINN pilot shouted as he led his comrades towards the approaching Earth Alliance forces.

Moebius mobile armors and Strike Daggers battled GINNs, CGUEs and GuAIZs. The mobile armors were little more than cannon fodder. But their numbers distracted the ZAFT machines, allowing the Strike Dagger to easily catch many of them off guard. The older GINNs and GuAIZs found themselves being overpowered by the newer Strike Daggers. Only the more experienced pilots could match the newer Daggers. While the GuAIZs were the superior mobile suits on the field. But their limited numbers weren't enough to turn the tide of the battle in ZAFT's favor.

It was a bloody stalemate. A GINN effortlessly gunned down three Moebius mobile armors, only to be picked off by a Strike Dagger. A _Nazca_-class fired its cannon, hitting and sinking a _Nelson_-class ship. A pair of _Agamemnon_-class warships fired their main cannons at the _Nazca_-class. The beams tore through the ship, gutting it. A GuAIZ fired off its arrestors at a Dagger, tearing the mobile suit apart. But as the cables retracted, another Dagger fired, avenging his fallen comrade. Only for a CGUE to shot that Dagger from behind.

* * *

_Jachin Due_

Yzak, Shiho and Saya entered the briefing room. Due to the lack of experienced pilots, the three of them had been transferred to their own larger team with Yzak in command. Unfortunately, the rest of their team was rookie Greens fresh from the academy. As a result, the second they opened the door, they were flocked by a number of overeager rookies. "Commander Joule! Is it true? Is Boaz under attack?" one of the pilots asked.

"Those damn Naturals!"

"Do we have any information on the enemy's strength and the situation?"

"Do we have orders for launch?"

"Are we going-"

"Enough!" Yzak shouted, silencing the rookies.

"The attacking forces have been estimated at being two large fleets, as well as a large number of their new mobile suit." Yzak explained. "Admiral Kessel is ordering all available forces be deployed to reinforce Boaz. That includes us. We're going to board the _Noin_ and head out there as soon as possible. So get to you mobile suits. Now!"

There was a chorus of "Sir, yes sir!" from the pilots before they rushed out to the hanger. "Wow. They're...really eager." Saya commented.

"I recall that you the same way when you first joined the team." Yzak said as the three of them headed for the hanger as well.

Saya stopped. "I wasn't that bad!"

Yzak glanced back. "Yeah you were."

* * *

_Hong Fa Wu's Office_

_Aprilius One_

Rau Le Creuset, Ezalia Joule and a number of ZAFT officers and officials were watching the battle of Boaz play out when the doors opened and Hong Fa Wu and his entourage entered the room. Everyone immediately turned to the Chairman. Ezalia was the first to speak. "Your Excellency, the-"

"There's no reason to panic." Hong Fa Wu said, interrupting her. "An attack on Boaz by their Lunar Fleet isn't an unexpected action."

He turned to several of his aides. "Have we gotten in touch with all branches of the armed forces?"

"Yes sir."

"Media censorship?"

"Done sir."

Wu nodded and turned to the military officers. "I want a full status report now."

"Yes sir."

* * *

_The Dominion_

As the battle raged, second, smaller Alliance force approached Boaz, away from the main battle raging on. It was the _Dominion_ and four _Agamemnon_-class warships. The _Dominion_'s catapults opened. The Calamity and the Forbidden were launched, followed by the Raider and the Massacre. The mobile suits took the lead as the group continued for Boaz.

* * *

_Aprilius One_

"The Naturals are fools for thinking they can take Boaz." a smug Ezalia commented.

An aide approached Wu. "Sir, Admiral Kessel has been organizing the force at Jachin Due to reinforce the garrison at Boaz and drive the Earth Forces back."

WU smirked, not caring who was organizing such a force. "Yes...Let's crush that pitiful force at Boaz. Have all nearby forces move to reinforce Boaz. We're going to destroy every last one of them."

Rau found this all so amusing. Azrael and Wu had been so easy to manipulate. It was always those who believed themselves impossible to manipulate that were the easiest to manipulate. They believed themselves to be controlling their side and this war like a chess player. In reality, he was the player and they were nothing more than his lowly pawns.

Perhaps it was time to stoke the fires one last time before Azrael unleashed the Alliance's surprise. "Chairman Wu..."

Wu glanced over his shoulder. "Yes. What is it Le Creuset?"

"I'm sure the Earth Forces are well aware of the strength of Boaz's forces and that defeating them would be no easy task. But I can't imagine they'd attack it if they didn't have something up their sleeve."

Wu raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner. "What are you getting at?"

* * *

_Boaz Command Center_

"Sir. Unknown machines detected at Indigo 13, Mark 66, Bravo. They're mobile suits. Four of them."

Commander Brom, the commander of Boaz turned to the controller. "What? Only four?"

"Sir. Just confirmed. They're the same ones reported by the Le Creuset Team. Behind them are one _Archangel_-class and four _Agamemnon_-class vessels, distance 500."

"Have Rearguard Teams Three through Six move to intercept." Brom ordered. "If they think that will be enough to take Boaz, they're sorely mistaken."

* * *

"Look at all those guys." Orga said as ZAFT forces moved to intercept them.

_"You know what I see?"_ Clotho asked. _"Targets!"_

Shani snickered as a wild grin spread across Martin's face as the four pilots raced towards their approaching enemies. "There's so many. I don't which one should be first." Orga said, taking aim at a number of ZAFT mobile suits. "I know! All of you!"

Orga fired all of the Calamity's guns at once, destroying five ZAFT mobile suits. A GuAIZ fired its beam rifle at the Forbidden. But the beam harmlessly bounced off the machine's beam deflection shields, surprising the GuAIZ pilot. "No one takes a shot at me and gets away with it!" Shani shouted, bringing his scythe through the machine's torso.

Martin fired his Ragnorak beam cannon at GINN, but the pilot managed to evade his shots. "Eat this!" he shouted, switching to his Gatling guns.

The pilot tried to evade the beams and bullets, but there was too many shots being fired. The GINN was pierced numerous times by the Massacre's weapons. The GINN didn't explode. Rather it virtually disintegrated under the barrage.

Nearby, a CGUE aimed its beam rifle at the Massacre's back. But before it could fire, the Raider's hammer slammed into its side, practically splitting the mobile suit in two. "Ha ha ha...These guys are pathetic!" Clotho said as he fired on more ZAFT mobile suits.

* * *

_Aprilius One_

The report of the small Alliance strike group had reached the group gathered in Hong Fa Wu's office. But none of them were alarmed by this. "They're only regular mobile suits and a few new models. They're kidding themselves if they think that will be enough to take Boaz." Ezalia said, brushing off Rau's concerns.

"Let's just hope that's the case." Rau replied.

Wu wasn't quite as convinced as Ezalia was. Especially if it was coming from Rau. "What are you trying to say, Le Creuset?"

"It's difficult for me to say, but as you know, there are a number of wild cards in play. Like the Freedom, the Justice, Omega One, and Lacus Clyne."

Wu's face turned into an angry scowl. "Are you trying to say that they may have once again acquired their nuclear capabilities?"

"I know. It doesn't seem possible. Yet..."

* * *

_The Clyne Faction Fleet_

The nine warships of the Clyne Faction were hiding in a small debris field, somewhere in between both the PLANTs and the Alliance's lunar headquarters. If anything happened in space, they would be ready to intercept it.

...But not at the moment. At the moment, they were being resupplied by the ReHOME and a small group of other Junk Guild ships, leaving them unable to do anything until they were done.

"Do you think the Earth Alliance will be able to take Boaz?" Murrue asked her fellow ship commanders.

"Probably. They wouldn't have attacked ZAFT's second strongest base unless they thought they could do it." John replied.

"Then the Alliance will have a clear path to Jachin Due and the PLANTs themselves." Andrew added.

"But the Alliance will not have an easy time of it." Kisaka pointed out. "Boaz's forces will be able to hold them back for quite a while."

John scratched his chin. "Yes...That is something that's bugging me. The Alliance has been building up their forces at the Moon for weeks now. Yet they only sent two fleets to attack Boaz. While it would be enough to conquer the Boaz, the battle will be needlessly long, drawn out and bloody."

Andy nodded. "I know. I can't figure that out either. I would have thought the Alliance would have tried to quickly take Boaz with overwhelming numbers before pushing on through to Jachin Due."

"Yeah. It's like they don't care about own their attack. That can only tell me they have something else planned. As there been any movement from the Moon?"

Murrue shook her head. "No. Nothing has left the Moon since the Alliance battlegroup left."

"Then I can't help but wonder what they have under their sleeve for this attack."

* * *

_The Archangel's Hanger_

"The Alliance is attacking Boaz. What's the status of the Exia?" Chris asked his aunt. "Have you got it fixed up?"

Johanna grinned. "Of course it's repaired. Who do you take me for?"

Chris simply shrugged.

"You know, you two don't match now." she added.

Chris absently traced the horizontal scar just under his left eye. He shrugged again. "I guess so." he said. "It amazes me that this is the first time I was ever really hurt piloting the Exia, or any machine for that matter."

"What can I say? We built these machines to be tough. Look at their track record. The Aegis and the Blitz were destroyed, yet their pilots survived. The Strike was nearly destroyed, yet Kira survived. If you get shot down in one of these machines, it's likely that you'll survive even if the machine doesn't."

Chris chuckled. "It certainly looks that way."

* * *

_The Dominion_

Azrael smirked as they watched the Calamity, the Forbidden, the Massacre, and the Raider tear through the ZAFT forces with ease. "I like what I see. I've heard only complaints about them since their first battle. But they've really improved since ORB."

At that moment, Captain Sutherland contacted the ship. "_It's time. We're deploying the Peacemaker Force."_ he said.

The four _Agamemnon_-class warships opened their hangers, launching scores of Moebius mobile armors, armed with a single, large missile. A nuclear missile.

The force of mobile armors headed for the Boaz. "Okay boys. Protect the Peacemaker Force." Azrael ordered.

The four Biological CPUs immediately turned towards the strike force, cutting through any ZAFT forces that got in their way. "You heard him. Let's tear through these guys!" Orga said, firing at a GuAIZ and some GINNs.

A GuAIZ, having seen the mobile armors, moved to intercept them. Only to be shot in the back by the Raider. "Oh no. You're not done playing until I say you are." Clotho said.

"Die!" yelled Shani as he fired his plasma cannon.

The curving beam caught several ZAFT mobile suits, destroying them.

Martin laughed as he rained destruction upon the ZAFT forces that tried to stop them. "Ha ha ha ha ha! Die insects!"

It didn't take long for the four of them to clear out a path for the Peacemaker Force. Soon the mobile armors were in firing range. "Say your prayers, space monsters!" one pilot said, locking onto Boaz.

"For the preservation of our blue and pure world!" another added.

The pilots fired off their missiles. The nuclear missile streaked towards Boaz. No one could stop them. The missiles hit Boaz. The nuclear explosion quickly spread across Boaz's exterior and interior. Consuming everything in a nuclear firestorm. The battle outside Boaz stopped as everyone watched the destruction of Boaz.

"Whoa..." Orga said in awe.

"Awesome!" Clotho added.

"Pretty..." Shani whispered, staring at the nuclear explosion in a trance.

Martin, on the other hand, was torn between awe and disappointment. "It's over? I wanted to fight some more."

* * *

_Jachin Due Command and Control Room_

"What's our status? How teams are ready to deploy for Boaz?" Admiral Rebbecca Kessel asked.

She wasn't the base commander, she just happened to outrank him. Under her authority, teams were being scrambled from Jachin Due to reinforce Boaz. She did not want to take any chances. Boaz was the first line of defense for the PLANTs. Any lunar based fleet would have to come through Boaz before they could attack the PLANTs. If Boaz fell, all that remained to protect the PLANTs was Jachin Due.

"The Joule Team, the Yazan Team, the Gato Team and the Scirocco Team are ready to go. The Ashta Team, the Evin Team and the Cehack Team will be ready in ten minutes Admiral."

"Send the Teams that are ready to go. We cannot lose Boaz."

"Admiral! A massive energy and radiation surge detected at Boaz!"

"What? Identify!"

"It's...No..."

"What is it?" Rebbecca demanded.

But the officer was frozen from shock. She moved over to his console and saw with her own eyes what had happened.

"Cancel that last order! All nearby ZAFT forces are to return to homeland at once!" she ordered, struggling to keep her own fear out of her voice. "The Earth Alliance just nuked Boaz and their forces heading for Jachin Due and the PLANTs! All surviving Boaz forces are to make for Jachin Due as quickly as possible! All ZAFT forces are to reinforce Jachin Due immediately!"

Some officers rushed to carry out her orders. But others were too stunned by the news of the nuclear attack on Boaz. Rebecca slammed her fist on the console. The sound echoed through the large chamber. "What are you waiting for? We can't afford to wait! That fleet will be coming here next! And the only thing that stands between them and our homeland is us! The forces here at Jachin Due! We cannot afford to be sitting around! Get to work!"

The remaining officers immediately resumed working rather than risk incurring her wrath.

* * *

_The Dominion_

"Even ZAFT's space fortress is no match for nuclear warheads." Azrael said with a smirk.

Natarle turned to him. "Director Azrael. They may be our enemies but don't you feel any remorse for using nuclear weapons against them?"

"I never expected to hear that from a professional soldier." he replied, that smirk never leaving his face. "Compared to someone like you, I'm practically a saint. There are plenty of commanders out there who willing send out their soldiers to die in a battle they knew they couldn't win."

Azrael stood up from his chair. "Now. Set course to the PLANTs. After we're done there, this war will finally come to an end."

Flay could only watch on in silent horror at what she had inadvertently caused by delivering Rau's disk. Had she truly known what was on that disk, she would have destroyed it rather than had it over. But she didn't. And because of that, all of those people had died. Because of her...

Ensign Lockhart swore out loud, but no one called her out on it. _'When will those guys be ready with the missiles?!'_ she thought angrily as she looked at the planet in the distance.

* * *

_Aprilius One_

Just about everyone was stunned by what they had just seen. "Those damn Naturals!" a furious Hong Fa Wu shouted as they watched Boaz become consumed by nuclear fire.

Ezalia took a step towards him. "Your Excellency-"

"Hurry and put up a defense line at Jachin Due!" Wu ordered, cutting her off. "Le Creuset."

"Yes Chairman Wu."

"I'm going to Jachin Due. We'll counter with GENESIS."

Rau suppressed his smirk. "Yes sir." Rau paused for a moment. "Sir, may I request that my protégé be assigned the Retribution? I can think of no one more capable to fly that machine than him."

Wu nodded. "Do it."

An officer approached the pair. "Your Excellency, Admiral Kessel is already mounting a defensive line at Jachin Due."

"Inform her that I am relieving her of command. I will command our forces personally. This is too important to trust to anyone else."

* * *

_The Eternal_

Kira and Athrun entered the _Eternal_'s bridge as the engines of the engines warships started up. "Lacus. Is it true? The lunar fleet is attacking Boaz?" Kira asked.

"No. Things have moved beyond that. ...And in the worst possible direction." Lacus replied, her tone worried and sad.

"According to the information received from our sources, Boaz has already been destroyed. With nuclear weapons." Waltfeld added.

Both teens were stunned by the announcement. Lord Uzumi's words echoed in their minds.

"_The Earth Forces' present actions are being guided by the leader of Blue Cosmos, Muruta Azrael. To make matters worse, the PLANTs are led by someone who believes Coordinators are a new species, for Hong Fa Wu rules them now. The way things are developing, the world will soon be trapped between two forces who refuse to accept each other's' existence."_

His words rang true. Because of men like Muruta Azrael, the Earth Alliance was ready to wipe the PLANTs and the millions of innocent lives living there. And now, no doubt, ZAFT would respond in kind.

"The Earth Alliance fleet is heading to Jachin Due." Andrew said. "But they'll likely stop to resupply and prepare for the attack. And we're heading to Jachin Due as well."

* * *

_The Dominion_

_A Few Hours Later_

Natarle stared out at the fleet being resupplied. They were within striking range of Jachin Due and the PLANTs. Tomorrow, they would attack the ZAFT homeland itself.

Natarle's mind was drawn back to Murrue's words and Azrael's words.

"_This isn't only about what happened at Alaska, or even what happened to ORB. We have serious doubts of the entire Earth Alliance as a whole. Therefore, there will be no surrender and no return to the military."_

"_You may be the captain assigned to command this ship. But there are people higher up that have to look at the larger picture here."_

The Earth Alliance military was becoming less and less like the military she knew.

At that moment, Flay floated into the observation room.

"You would have been better off if you had remained on the Lunar Base. Just because you decided to stay on board, doesn't mean that you'll meet up with the _Archangel_ again."

"I need to see him again..."

"Who?"

"Chris." Flay answered. "I need to see him again. To thank him for everything he's done for me. I was a different person when I first met him. Spoiled. Stuck up. I really only cared about myself. But then I met him, and eyes started to open. Then my father died and he helped me deal with all of my grief and anger."

Natarle sighed. "Well, from this point on, the war is only going to get worse. We'll see a lot more of what happened earlier. Are you prepared for that?"

Flay's eyes started to water. Her mind on what happened at Boaz and all the lives lost. All because she listened to _him_. She scowled. "That man...He said that if I gave the Earth Forces that disk, the war would end!"

Natarle hung her head. "The war will end. When every enemy has been destroyed." she said in a tired, bitter tone.

"No, it won't. Not if NASA can stop it." Ensign Lockhart replied, making Natarle wonder if he was really who she said she was…

* * *

_Jachin Due_

_The Next Day_

ZAFT had gathered every mobile suit and pilot they could muster. Even trainee pilots that had a small amount of actual flight experience were given GINNs and added to the defense forces. Numerous _Nazca_-class and _Laurasia_-class vessel formed a defensive line around Jachin Due and the PLANTs.

Near Jachin Due, another massive force had assembled. The Earth Alliance fleet stood ready. With _Agamemnon_-class and _Nelson_-class battleships surrounded by the more numerous _Drake_-class escort ships. Amid the fleet, was a lone _Archangel_-class assault ship; the _Dominion_.

Suddenly, the engines of the Earth ships powered up. The fleet started its advance toward Jachin Due, launching countless mobile suits and mobile armors. The ZAFT forces instantly scrambled to engage the invaders. Their own warships advanced as they launched their mobile suits.

The second battle of Jachin Due had begun.

* * *

"_After the Bloody Valentine, we refrained from retaliating against the Naturals with nuclear weapons! Instead, we took the humane path! We removed the ability to use nuclear weapons! We had hoped and prayed that they would never be used again! But once again, the Naturals have shattered our hopes and prayers! We will never let those barbaric Naturals drop a single nuclear weapon on us again!"_

Yzak powered up his Duel as his mother's words were broadcasted across the entire defense force. Behind him, his team was doing the same. _"Hell yeah! Let's waste those Natural animals!"_ one of his pilots shouted.

"Cut the chatter." Yzak ordered. "Now is not the time for that garbage."

Yzak could remember a time, months ago, when he would have been the one saying something like that. But now, that kind of talk just irritated him. It just didn't seem to matter anymore. Naturals and Coordinators. Coordinators were just as capable of committing atrocities in war. So why were the _Naturals_ always called barbaric and animals when _Coordinators_ had done things like the massacre at Panama?

Yzak shook his head. Now wasn't the time for that either. They had to protect the PLANTs from the Alliance and their nuclear weapons. If even one missile hit, it would be the Bloody Valentine all over again.

"_My courageous ZAFT soldiers! Show them our true strength! Show them that we're not to be trifled with! Show them who the new leaders of this world are!"_

The hanger doors opened. "Joule Team, launching!" Yzak said before he and his team took off into space.

* * *

The Calamity, the Forbidden, the Massacre, and the Raider soared towards the ZAFT forces. "Wow...I think there's even more than last time." Shani said, a grin on his face.

_"Although it's hardly any fun fighting against the weak ones."_ Orga commented.

_"Who cares? If they want us to attack them, I'm not complaining."_ Clotho replied.

_"Yeah."_ Martin added. _"I just hope these insects last longer than last time."_

* * *

_The Doolittle_

"Peacemaker Force, commence launch." Captain Sutherland ordered.

The _Doolittle_ and its three sister ships opened their catapults. Dozens of mobile armors armed with nuclear missiles took off, following the path made by the four Biological CPUs.

* * *

_The Clyne Faction Fleet_

"We mustn't allow a single nuclear missile to hit the PLANTs. If the blade of light stabs right through the innocent, then it will only lead to endless tears and more hatred." Lacus said to the entire fleet as they readied for battle.

The _Eternal _mobile suit catapult opened up as the Freedom was loaded onto it. "Kira Yamato. Freedom Gundam taking off." Kira said launching from the _Eternal_.

The second the Freedom cleared the catapult, the Justice was loaded onto it. "Athrun Zala. Justice launching."

The _Archangel_'s catapults also opened up as the Strike and the Exia were loaded onto them.

"Mu La Flaga. Strike launching."

"Chris Dante. Exia launching."

The two machines took off, the Strike's phase shift activating. The next two machines were loaded onto the catapults.

"Saul Kessel. Surge takin' off."

"Dearka Elsman. Buster launching."

The next two were loaded after the Buster cleared the hanger.

"Nisha Itsuno, Z.A.M. Gundam launching."

In a roar of fire, Wing Zero took off as well.

They cleared the catapults and the final two machines were loaded.

"Liz Dante. Dynames launching."

"Nicol Amalfi. Neo Blitz taking off."

The _Kusanagi_'s catapult opened, and the _Kusanagi_'s Astrays started launching from the ship. Meanwhile, the hanger doors of the _Odin_, the _Valkyrie_, and the _Einherjar_, opened. "John Alaric. Farsight II launching."

The Farsight took off, followed by the rest of the 11th Fleet's mobile suits.

The 7th Fleet's own hanger doors opened, revealing the machines of the new NAZAFT unit. "Akira Nishikama, Wing launching."

"Tao White. Diver launching."

Both machines launched into space with the rest of the fleet's machines behind them.

"Deploying METEORs." Andrew said as the _Eternal_ released its two weapon platforms.

Kira and Athrun quickly docked with the platforms, adding to their mobile suit's already impressive firepower.

"The choice we're making maybe one of evil as well." Lacus prayed as their forces headed for the battle. "For we call for peace, but with weapons in our hands. Nevertheless, allow us to break this chain of endless conflict. Give us strength to end this war."

* * *

_A Secured Hanger_

_Jachin Due_

Zane, clad in his flightsuit with his helmet under his arm, and a technician entered the dimly lit hanger. They stopped in front of a mobile suit, obscured in darkness. Suddenly, the hanger lights came on, revealing the mobile suit.

"So this is the Retribution." Zane said, admiring his new machine.

"Yes sir. By orders of Chairman Wu, the ZGMF-X14A Retribution been assigned to you."

He nodded and headed for the cockpit. "It's a shame that he's still in that weaker machine." Zane said to himself. "Now he doesn't stand a chance against me."

Zane entered the cockpit and began to power up the Retribution. Its phase-shift activated, turning the color from dull gray to a sinister black and red. "It's time for this all to end." he said, taking off.

* * *

Yzak shot down a pair of Strike Daggers, when something caught his eye. He turned to it. A cluster of lights heading towards the PLANTs. The Duel's cameras zoomed in on it. It was a group of Moebius mobile armors armed with...

"Nuclear missiles!" Yzak shouted in horror. "They've deployed their nuclear missiles!"

Saya and the other nearby ZAFT pilots turned to him. _"What?"_

"Come on! We have to shoot them down!" Yzak yelled, heading to cut off the mobile armors before it was too late.

The nearby GINNs and GuAIZs sped off as well, towards the nuclear weapons. All of them praying they stop the nukes in time.

A trio of ZAFT mobile suits was suddenly gunned down from behind. "Sorry. But these aren't for you guys." Orga taunted, firing at the ZAFT forces.

Two GuAIZs were almost in firing range when a curving tore through one then the other. "No way. You're not stopping them. They're too pretty." Shani said, slicing through a GINN with his scythe.

Yzak swore. It was the new Earth machine he had seen at ORB and Mendel. They didn't have time to deal with these punks.

"Hey look! That one's different." Clotho said, firing his railgun at the Duel. "I wonder if it's like those other ones."

Yzak dodged the shot and fired off a barrage of beams and missiles. But Clotho spun his spherical breaker out in front of him. Shielding him from Yzak's attack. "DIE...!" Martin cheered, firing his Gatling guns at the Duel and several other nearby ZAFT machines.

Yzak swore as he dodged the shots. The other ZAFT pilots weren't as lucky or skilled and were killed by the Massacre's guns. He couldn't stay and fight these guys. He had to stop those mobile armors. He was so caught up in the mobile armors and their lethal payload, that he didn't notice Clotho moving behind him. "Finishing move!" Clotho screamed, firing his beam cannon.

He caught Yzak off guard, leaving him unable to defend himself in time. Suddenly, a purple GuAIZ moved between him and the beam. It raised its shield, blocking the beam. _"You alright sir?"_ Saya asked.

"What are you doing? You should be going after those mobile armors! Not helping me!"

At that moment, the Peacemaker Force had reached firing range and fired off their missiles. "NO!" Yzak screamed. "Someone! Anyone! Shoot down those missiles!"

However, no one was in range to shoot down any of the missiles in time. It was all over...

But then at that moment, a miracle happened. The Freedom, Wing Zero and the Justice appeared. Kira and Athrun quickly targeted the missiles and fired every weapon their mobile suits and METEORs had. Numerous beams and missiles struck the nuclear missiles. Many of the missiles exploded, taking those they missed in the ensuing explosions. Heero opened fire with the full power of the Twin Buster Rifle, taking out many more missiles that had been missed by the two Coordinators.

Not a single nuclear warhead hit its target.

All of the nearby ZAFT and Earth Alliance pilots were stunned. None of them could believe that three mobile suits could destroy all those nukes. But their surprise only increased, as the _Archangel_, the _Eternal_, the _Kusanagi_, the 7th Fleet and the warships of the 11th Fleet entered the battlefield.

_"Soldiers of the Earth Forces! Stop your attack at once!"_ Lacus called out. _"Are you really aware of the consequences of what you're about to do?"_

* * *

_The Dominion_

The bridge crew of the Dominion was just as stunned as the pilots were. Azrael couldn't believe that the entire first wave of nukes had been destroyed before any of them could reach their target. It just didn't seem possible. But he wasn't too upset. They had another wave of missiles that had yet to be fired and even more nukes on the _Doolittle_ and the other ships.

The Clyne Faction fleet appeared on the main screen as a girl's voice filled the comm channels. _"Soldiers of the Earth Forces! Stop your attack at once! Are you really aware of the consequences of what you're about to do? I repeat..."_

"Who is that girl?" he asked.

"Lacus Clyne." Natarle replied.

Azrael shrugged. "Well, anyone trying to get in our way is an enemy." he said. "They've been giving us problems anyway. This is perfect. We can get rid of them here too."

* * *

The second wave of the Peacemaker Force fired their nukes. But this time, several pilots were in position to take them out. John took aim with his sniper rifle and fired. A nuke exploded, taking another with it. Yzak, Dearka, Saul and Nicol fired everything they had at group of missiles, destroying them. Mu and Liz fired shots from their beam rifle and GN Sniper Rifle, taking out several more. Chris fired his GN Vulcan. One round struck the nose of a missile while the other hit another missile nearby the first. The two exploded. Akira fired his mini-missiles at a few, taking them out in an explosion of heat and light. Nisha fired all of his machine's weapons at more missiles, taking out that incoming threat in a massive group of explosions. Tao used her machine's battle staff to destroy two missiles that had been missed. Both exploded. Very quickly, the entire second wave had been wiped out. The PLANTs had been saved from nuclear annihilation. For now...

"The Freedom, Omega One and the Justice. So, you've managed to stop the nukes." Zane said, the Retribution approaching the area.

Heero, Kira, and Athrun turned to the approaching mobile suit. Ready for him to attack them. But Zane didn't make any move to attack. "Sorry. But neither of you are the ones I want." he said, flying past them.

Kira, Heero, and Athrun momentarily stopped as the Retribution passed them. Surprised that he hadn't actually tried to attack them. They would have chased after it, but as soon as Zane passed them, the Extended pilots attacked.

"It's payback time!" Orga shouted, firing on the three machines.

Athrun flew up while Kira flew down, dodging his shots. Heero flew to the side to escape as well. The Forbidden lunged at the Freedom with its scythe. "DIE!" Shani screamed, swinging his weapon down.

Kira sidestepped the attack, drawing a beam saber. He quickly swung the saber down, slicing the head of the scythe off. But before Kira could capitalize, Martin fired on them with his beam Gatling guns. Kira barely managed to get out of the way while Shani lowered his Geschmeidig Panzer system, deflecting the beams. Heero fired his rifle at the Forbidden, forcing Shani to dodge.

Clotho threw his hammer at the Justice but Athrun hit it aside with his shield. Athrun then launched his Fatum-00 pack at the Raider, knocking the black mobile suit away. Suddenly, more beams from the Calamity streaked out towards him. Athrun dodged and fired back with his beam rifle. Both pilots missed. The Fatum-00 pack docked with the Justice as Athrun and Orga continued to exchange fire. But so did the Raider, firing its railgun at the Justice.

* * *

Zane scanned the area, searching for the Exia. "Where are you? Where are you hiding?" he said to himself.

Suddenly, he turned to the left. "There!"

Zane fired the Retribution's cannons.

Chris had only just caught the new mobile suit on his sensors when he saw the beams streaking towards him. He pulled to the left, evading the beams. "Zane." he said, heading for the machine.

"Chris." he replied, continuing for the Exia.

"You won't defeat me. Even with that new machine." Chris said.

Zane laughed. "Do you really think that you can beat this mobile suit with that toy?" he asked.

"This is the Retribution. I have more power in one cannon than you have in your entire machine! You can't beat me!"

Zane fired his multi-phase beam cannons at the Exia, but Chris dodged them, drew a GN Beam Saber and charged at the Retribution. But before the energy blade could touch the Retribution, two energy blades shot up out of nowhere, blocking his strike. Chris looked down. A pair of smaller arms, armed with beam sabers, had folded out from the skirt. "As you can see, this mobile suit has a few surprises in it."

Zane pushed the Exia back, activating the bayonets in his cannon. He swung one then the other at the Exia. Chris sidestepped the first blade and blocked the second with his own saber. "A superior mobile suit does not ensure victory!" Chris shot back. "You can't beat me! Not when I have this machine!"

Zane laughed again as the Retribution started to overpower the Exia. "You're a fool. The Raven is now an obsolete machine. It's nothing but an old toy compared to this mobile suit! I have no idea where you got that new one, but it will never help you beat me!"

* * *

_Jachin Due_

"How very cute." Wu commended as they watched the actions of Lacus Clyne's forces. "Have our forces leave them alone. Those traitors and pests are nothing compared to Naturals. They can't stop us. Our preparations are already complete."

"GENESIS is entering its final stages." an officer said over the comm. "All vessels, retreat from the zone of emission."

"Have our troops clear out of GENESIS's path, Ezalia." Wu ordered. "Now we'll show them our true power."

* * *

_Outside Jachin Due_

A massive device suddenly appeared behind Jachin Due. GENESIS. The massive cannon started to move from behind Jachin Due, its phase shift armor activating as it took its firing position. The first external alignment mirror was moved into position.

While most of the mobile suit pilots were too busy in their battles to notice the appearance of the super weapon, the crews of the surviving warship were a different matter. The bridge crews of the Earth Alliance and Clyne Faction ships all stared at GENESIS, unsure of what it was. But they weren't the only ones. The vast majority of ZAFT forces were just as confused by this weapon. They had no idea what this mammoth device was either as GENESIS started to power up.

Suddenly, appeared on the Duel's display. Along with a set of coordinates.

_/ Urgent Warning /_

_/ Priority 1 /_

_Evacuate all units from zone of emission_

_/ Caution /_

_GENESIS activated_

Yzak had no idea what GENESIS was. But whatever it was, it was about to be fired in their direction. "Athrun! Dearka! Saul! Nicol! Everyone! Get out of here! They're firing GENESIS!" he shouted, trying to warn his former teammates.

Athrun towards the approaching Duel. _"What? GENESIS?"_

"Yes! We have to get out of here now!"

* * *

_Jachin Due Command and Control Room_

"All you Naturals, mark this moment well. Let this light usher in the creation of the Coordinators' world!" Wu said as Rau watched on with an insane smirk. "Fire!"

GENESIS fired...

* * *

_Dominion_

Ensign Lockhart could only watch in horror at the massive cannon that was now before them.

Just what was the world coming to?

* * *

_Washington D.C._

Vice-President Young and President Hilson stared at the massive cannon that now emerged from behind the ZAFT fortress. It was so massive, they could only gulp in dread at the mere sight of it.

Not even their nuclear missile arsenal was going to be enough to stop the cannon if it fired. It was that powerful. At that moment, the two found themselves wishing that Omega One-no, Wing Zero- would be able to stop the cannon's power. If what they had seen was any indication, then the pilot of that machine would be more than able to stop it.

He just hoped that it was not at too great a cost.

* * *

_New Juneau_

The NAZAFT commander was shaking as she observed the massive cannon that was called GENESIS. The name seemed fitting, given what was about to occur.

But she knew that it was far from a good thing, well, for Naturals anyway. And those Coordinators down on Earth as well.

How had Hong Fa Wu managed to get such a monstrosity built and hidden from even their sensors?! It just did not make any sense.

Shaking, she slumped back into her seat. The mere fact that such a weapon existed was far beyond even her mind.

How could the Supreme Chairman even consider doing such a thing, wiping out all Naturals? It did not make any sense other than he was nuts and a genocidal maniac who was a supremacist. That had to be the reason.

But something told her that there was another force at work, one that had hatred that surpassed even Wu's.

But what was it? The NAZAFT commander could not tell. All that she knew was that the end of the world was coming if something was not done to stop it.

* * *

_Mexico City_

Diego Gonzalez was horrified at what he was seeing on the TV screen. The massive cannon was charging and fired before he could even blink.

It was truly a sight that made him want to hide in his room and never open the door again.

That was how bad it was.

But he did not do so, because he knew he was the leader of a nation, and nation's leaders did not hide in the face of danger, unlike some others he knew.

* * *

_Ottawa_

Travis Warson was in shock when he saw the cannon fire the beam.

His willpower ebbed from his body, making him slump to the ground in horror.

It seemed that the end of the human race was finally at hand, and he refused to accept it. The one reason he refused to accept such a harsh reality was simple. The machine that had stopped the Cyclops System was up there, so if it used its full power on that cannon, then there was still hope for humanity.

Warson looked up at the spot where he guessed the cannon was.

"Wu, you will fall to the factions opposing you…" he murmured.

But the words seemed to be an empty truth, lacking any conviction he could have had in the past. Warson knew that he was just deluding himself, but who knew?

Maybe Wu would fall, but only time would tell for sure.

And it was all up to those fighting up in space to prove Wu wrong on so many accounts, concerning both the Naturals and the Coordinators who were now involved as well…

* * *

The final battles are about to begin. What awaits now? Read on to find out! :3 Flames, AKA, hate filled/spamming reviews, **_will_** be deleted **_AND/OR_** reported depending on if they are signed or not. Anyway, read and review! ^^


	36. Phase 35: Day of Wrath

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. Nor do I own Martin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: You will see what happens. :)**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :)**

**A0930: You will see what happens. No spoilers though. ;3**

**RedRat8: Glad you like it, and that is what the Gaiden is for. :)**

**Inconsistent Guest: **PLEASE **use a** CONSISTENT** user name, as in the **same user name as last time!** Geez...**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those with an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you are a guest without an account, **PLEASE** put **THE SAME** guest name over and over again so it is easier for me to respond to you. Thanks!**

* * *

Phase Thirty-Five: Day of Wrath

"All you Naturals, mark this moment well. Let this light usher in the creation of the Coordinators' world!" Wu said as Rau watched on with an insane smirk. "Fire!"

GENESIS fired... And hell was unleashed upon the Earth Alliance fleet.

The beam tore through the fleet. Nothing could stop it. Nothing could withstand it. The hulls of even the mightiest ships in Alliance fleet nothing compared to GENESIS's firepower. Dozens of _Agamemnon_, _Nelson_, and _Drake_-class ships were destroyed in an instant, alongside countless Moebius mobile armors and Strike Dagger mobile suits. Their armor of their hulls and machines might as well be made of paper against the powerful beam of GENESIS. In a matter of seconds, one half of the Alliance fleet was gone.

Just about everyone watching was stunned and horrified. The surviving Earth Alliance forces, the Clyne Faction forces and even the ZAFT forces could only stare at the detestation brought upon the Alliance forces.

* * *

_Jachin Due Command and Control Room_

"GENESIS fired at 60 percent maximum output." a technician reported.

"Estimated fifty percent of enemy forces destroyed." another added. "The enemy forces are retreating."

"Commence cool-down. Remove reflector mirror one and move mirror two into position."

Up on the command platform, Hong Fa Wu and Rau Le Creuset grinned at what they had wrought. "Your Excellency, I am astonished to see how incredible GENESIS truly is." Rau commented.

"There is no point in fighting a war unless you have the means to end it with victory." Wu replied.

* * *

_The Dominion_

"Our CSS is destroyed. Requesting permission to return to the ship at once."

"God...How could they do that..."

"Captain! Come in Captain! Do you read me?"

"Where's the _Alexander_? Has anyone seen the _Alexander_?"

Everyone one was stunned and horrified at just what had happened. The entire fleet was in disarray. Even Natarle was speechless. But she knew that if their surviving forces were to recover, someone needed to take the lead. "Get a hold of yourselves and find out what ships we have left!" Natarle said over the comm, trying to reestablish order amongst the forces of the Alliance. "What's the status of our flagship, the _Hood_?"

"The _Hood_'s identification code has completely disappeared." the radar operator replied.

"No response from the _Cook_ or the _Grant_ either." Flay added.

With the _Hood_, the _Grant_ and the _Cook_ gone, the _Dominion_ was now the flagship of the fleet. She glanced at Azrael. The man seemed paralyzed with terror and rage. He wasn't going to be giving any orders any time soon. "Fire the signal flares. All remaining ships are to withdraw immediately." she ordered.

"Firing signal flares now." Ensign Lockhart replied.

* * *

_The Archangel_

Though the forces of the Clyne Faction had been out of the field of fire, sparing them from the wrath of the massive beam, they were just as stunned and horrified as the Earth Forces.

"The Earth Forces are withdrawing from the area." Sai reported.

"Captain Ramius, we should also retreat for now." Andrew Waltfeld added.

Murrue nodded. "Yes...Recall all mobile suits."

* * *

_Jachin Due_

Hong Fa Wu stood up from his chair. "Courageous soldiers of ZAFT! We can no longer tolerate the aggression of the arrogant Naturals! Once again, the PLANTs have come under nuclear attack! This is no longer a war! It is a campaign of extermination!" he shouted. "We can no longer forgive the Naturals who commit these atrocities without remorse!"

"Our new future! For the light of creation is with us! This is a day of history! Making the advent of a bright new world of Coordinators! The new Mankind!"

The control room filled with cheers and chants of 'Victory'.

* * *

The surviving Alliance forces were in full retreat. However, a number of ZAFT forces were less than willing to let them leave. GINNs and GuAIZs chased after retreating Strike Daggers as ZAFT warships fired on the fleeing Earth warships.

"Stop it!" Kira shouted, firing on a pair of GINNs. "Stop firing on those that cannot fight back!"

His beams destroyed the rifles and heads of the GINNs, forcing them to retreat and allowing the surviving Strike Daggers to reach the safety of the Alliance fleet. With his job done, he regrouped with Athrun and the two headed back for their fleet.

_"This is madness."_ Chris said as the Exia pulled alongside the two. _"As if nukes weren't bad enough, ZAFT creates a...I don't know...a massive death ray!"_ He let out a sigh before continuing. _"The nukes were one thing. We could intercept those. But that thing…How do we stop that thing?"_

"I don't know. I honestly don't know." Kira answered.

Athrun could only shake his head and wonder why his father's old friend would build such a weapon, much less use it.

* * *

_The Dominion_

_Several Hours Later_

Natarle sighed as she studied the causality list. That new weapon of ZAFT had been devastating. Approximately half the fleet had been wiped out by that one attack. In addition, there were the losses they had incurred in the battle prior to the attack and during their retreat. The fleet was a mess. At the moment, they were all struggling just to deal with the damage they had sustained.

"That's right! I'm dead serious! This is a result of the negligence shown by you guys at the top by letting this war drag on!" Azrael ranted on the comm to Fleet Command.

Suddenly, his rant was interrupted. "Captain! The _Churchill_ is emitting a distress signal!"

The Fleet had suffered enough losses already. They had to help them out before they lost more good men and women. "Tell them that we'll move to assist them immediately." Natarle ordered.

"Don't be an idiot!" Azrael shouted. "They want backup? Why should this ship have to help them?"

"Director Azrael. We have to-"

"All surviving ships are to prepare to resume the attack immediately!" he said, countermanding her order. "We need to concentrate on resupplying and maintenance!"

"But that's insane!" she argued. "You know very well the damage our forces have sustained!"

"Reinforcements and supplies will be arriving from Lunar HQ in no time!" he countered as he moved back to his seat. "You're the one who doesn't understand the situation! Take a look! We cannot afford to leave that thing out there! What do they mean 'the Naturals' barbaric nuclear weapons'? They can destroy the Earth from there. That device of theirs is by far the more barbaric weapon. And we have no idea when they'll point that thing at Earth. If we sit back and wait, they'll fire that thing again and it will be all over."

At that moment, there was a flash of light from a nearby explosion. Natarle didn't need confirmation to know what happened. The _Churchill_ had exploded. Natarle scowled but didn't say anything. As much as he hated this man, he was her superior and she had no choice but to follow his orders.

"It's all because you military types gave them all the time in the world to build that monstrosity!" Azrael said. "Maybe it's crazy, but we have to destroy that thing and the PLANTs before they destroy Earth!"

Ensign Lockhart could only stare at the remains of the _Churchill_, the ship that had blown up due to the lack of aid.

She clenched her fists so tightly she drew blood. How had those brave men and women reacted during their last moments of life? And how had they felt when they had realized that they had been abandoned by the _Dominion_ and Azrael?

Turning to face the man, tears flew away from her eyes as she glared at him. "What was that for?! Don't you realize that those men and women were _expecting_ help?!" She snarled.

Azrael just glared back at her. "So what? They would have been a liability in the end." He replied.

"What happened to the cooperation that once ruled the world?! Has everyone become so indifferent that they could care less about the _LIVES_ of the men and women under their command?!" The ensign snapped back. "Those people were in _NEED OF AID!_"

"And those who can't help themselves do not deserve to live." Azrael said in a low voice. "That crew was worthless if they took damage to their ship."

By now, Ensign Lockhart had had it. She reached for her gun and pulled it out, aiming the barrel at Azrael's head. "Give me one reason why I should not shoot you now." She snarled.

The man just smirked at her. "The crew here will protect me." He replied. "You see, you are outnumbered."

Ensign Lockhart growled, but put away her firearm. "You do not understand how the real world works, Director Azrael." She said. "How the world used to work was very different from what you know today. And that is never truer than now."

Azrael and the rest of the bridge crew stared at her in confusion.

"What are going on about, boy?" he asked.

"What I am saying is that the world needs international cooperation, built on trust and actions that back up those claims. But right now, that is not happening. Rather, the Earth Alliance is nothing but a big organization that bullies others into joining it. I seem to recall a time when such things did not happen, when an international group helped nations to settle disputes, and when people actually _CARED ABOUT OTHERS!"_ Ensign Lockhart shouted back. "What the Earth Alliance is right now is nothing but a bunch of bullies who like to hide behind power. They like to force others into joining them, but when faced by a stronger nation or alliance, they retreat. That is what makes the Earth Alliance so different from the United Nations, even if they are no longer the powerhouse that they once were."

Azrael stared at her words, which had hit home far closer than he was willing to admit. While it was true that the Earth Alliance _did_ bully others into joining it, he was not going to admit it. Besides, power was what enabled him to force others into joining the Earth Alliance, and that was what made him so angry. NASA was able to stand on its own against the Earth Forces invasion fleet that had been sent to conquer the alliance and its member nations. No mere three nation alliance should have been able to do that. And yet, _THEY HAD!_ That made him madder than he could hide, but he hid it well.

"So, you say that the Earth Alliance is nothing more than bullies? That is just sad." He said as he leaned back in his chair.

"How is it sad?"

"You are saying those things about your home. That is not what a normal soldier would say. Tell me, are you against the Earth Alliance's ideals, or are you with them?"

"I am with the Earth Alliance, but I do not agree with the way the ship abandoned the _Churchill_." Ensign Lockhart replied instantly.

Azrael just glared at her before he nodded. "Well, a soldier is entitled to her beliefs, I suppose, even if you have to do as I say. Just don't voice them. Otherwise you will come off as with the Coordinators."

It made her mad, but Ensign Lockhart had no choice but to back down for now. Oh, when she got him, she would do it, not just for her country, but for the crew of the _Churchill_ as well.

* * *

_The Eternal_

"They fired a gamma ray beam. The rays were generated by a nuclear explosion at the source and immediately focused into a coherent beam." Erica explained. "Think of it as a giant gamma ray laser. If it was fired at Earth, the extreme radiation would burn the entire planet to a crisp. All life on Earth would be wiped out."

Lacus, Kira, Athrun, Chris, Cagalli, Heero, Liz, Nisha, Aki', Tao, Murrue, John and Andy all quietly listened to her report on this new super weapon of ZAFT. "Do you think they'll fire it again... At Earth?" Murrue asked, worried about this latest development.

"Essentially, the purpose of a weapon of mass destruction is as a deterrent." Andy answered. "However, in this case, they've already been used, both nukes and that thing. At this point, neither side will hesitate to use them again." He paused for a moment. "The first time I shot someone, it turned my stomach. But after a time, I grew use to it."

"You're saying it's the same with that weapon and nuclear weapons?"

"Isn't it? People have the ability to adapt to anything, even with battles and killing."

"Is it weapons that give birth to battles? Or is it the human soul?"

"Whether it's nuclear weapons or that weapon, we can't let them fire those things at each other again." Kira said. "If that happens, it will be too late for anything."

Athrun nodded his head. "Yeah."

"Well...I can't think of a more impossible task we've set for ourselves." Chris said, rubbing the back of his neck. "But we seem to have a habit of making the impossible possible. So how are we going to do this?"

"Well, the only thing in our favor is the fact that is cannot fire consecutive shots. My guess is that they need to change the mirrors every time it's fired. But the main section is made of phase shift armor and we have to get through Jachin Due to get to it. And their defenses are quite formidable." Andy commented, studying the layout of the ZAFT forces around Jachin Due.

"Don't worry about that." John said. "The 11th Fleet will clear the path for the _Archangel_, the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi._ But I recommend that we wait until after the Earth Forces start their attack. That way, they'll draw much of Jachin Due's forces away and make things easier for us."

"You realize that you and your guys will be facing down a lot of mobile suits and warships. You realize what that means."

"Don't worry about us, Andy. We'll take anything they can throw at us." the Black Hawk replied. "Regardless of what happens to us, you guys will be in position to attack that monstrosity."

"What about the nukes?" Chris asked. "This will all be for nothing if we take out ZAFT's weapon only to have the PLANTs destroyed by nukes."

"The Freedom, Wing Zero, and the Justice, as well as some of the mobile suits on board the _Archangel_, can form a hunter-kill team to intercept the nukes and take out their carriers." John answered. "Once the nukes are dealt with, they can join up with the rest of us."

"How much time until they replace the mirror?" Murrue asked.

Andy scratched his chin. "I doubt it will be much longer. The real question is, will they target the Alliance's main lunar base, or will they target..."

"The Earth Forces will attack nuclear weapons again, won't they?" Kira said.

"Without a doubt." John replied, staring at the map. "No doubt, they're terrified of that weapon. I know I am. They have no choice but to use nukes now to destroy that thing."

"Sirs!" Martin shouted, interrupting the meeting. "The Alliance fleet is on the move! They're resuming their attack!"

"Speak of the devil." John said, already heading for the elevator. "Everybody better get ready. Things are about to get chaotic again."

Andy moved towards his command chair as Athrun, Chris, Heero, Aki' Tao, Liz, Nisha, Cagalli, and Murrue headed for the elevator. Kira followed, but stopped when Lacus called out to him as she headed for him. "Kira."

"Lacus." Kira said, catching the floating girl.

He glanced at everyone in the elevator, they all just smiled and John pushed a button, closing the elevator doors. A moment later, the empty elevator came back and the two teens entered it. As the elevator traveled, Lacus pulled something out of her pocket: a silver ring. "Kira, there's something I want you to have."

"Thanks." he said, accepting her gift.

Lacus stared into his eyes. "Please come back to me, okay?" she softly said.

Kira smiled and nodded. Then he kissed her cheek. "You be careful too, Lacus."

* * *

Cagalli stared at Athrun as the two headed on their own to the hanger. Athrun glanced at her. "What is it?"

"Nothing." she replied, turning away. "It's just that this time, I can go out too."

"They were finally able to assemble the Strike Rouge that they brought from Morgenroete. Good luck out there." she said.

Athrun stopped and grabbed her hand. "Wait, Cagalli. You're going out?"

"What's the matter?" Cagalli asked, annoyed at his tone. "I've received sufficient pilot training for this. And I'm a lot better than the Astray pilots!"

"Yeah...But..."

"The things we can do…the things we want to do and the things we should do, are the same for all of us, right? For you, for Kira, for Lacus and for me."

"Cagalli..."

"Sure, there are times when it's useless to go out to the battlefield and fight. But right now, it's necessary."

Athrun could only stare at her in surprise.

"Don't look at me like that. You take a lot more risks out there than I do." a very determined Cagalli said. "I won't let you die out there."

"Cagalli..."

"I won't let that guy who could be my little brother die either."

Athrun raised an eyebrow. "Little brother? Not your big brother?"

"Of course not! He's the younger one!" Cagalli practically shouted at him.

Athrun smiled. "You're right." he said before embracing her in a hug.

Cagalli could only blush as the two stood there for moment. "I'm lucky to have met you." Athrun added before breaking the hug. "I'll protect you."

The two then kissed.

* * *

_The Archangel's Hanger_

_A Short While Later_

Mu sat in the Strike's cockpit, waiting for the order to launch, when there was a knock on the hatch. He turned on a camera to see who it was. It was Murrue. Mu opened the hatch and stepped out, pulling off his helmet as he left the Strike.

"I thought I wouldn't make it in time." Murrue said to him.

Mu chuckled. "Wouldn't make it to what?"

He then noticed the floating necklace around her neck. "He was a mobile armor pilot, wasn't he?"

"Yes." Murrue answered, her tone soft and quiet.

"Don't worry. I'll be coming back. I promise." Mu said before pulling her into a kiss.

* * *

Liz drifted up to Nisha, who was in the Z.A.M. Gundam's cockpit. She was wearing her pilot suit, helmet in hand as she reached him.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey."

"Look, about going out there…I just wanted to say, well…you know…good luck. And that I'll cover you should you ever need it." Liz said.

Nisha looked up, noticing the blush on her face. "Hey, are you…" a small blush creeped onto his face as well.

Both pilots were silent before Liz did what Nisha thought was impossible. She kissed him. He was flushed with embarrassment, but he melted into the kiss and kissed back. Both pulled apart to give the other air.

"Thanks." Nisha replied as he smiled at her. Liz smiled back before she drifted back towards the Dynames.

* * *

By the time the Clyne Faction forces reached the Jachin Due area, the battle was already in full swing. They quickly started deploying all of their mobile suits. The _Eternal_'s mobile suit catapult opened up as the Freedom was loaded onto it. "Kira Yamato. Freedom Gundam taking off." Kira said launching from the _Eternal_.

The second the Freedom cleared the catapult, the Justice was loaded onto it. "Athrun Zala. Justice launching."

Once they had launched, the METEORs were released and mounted onto the two mobile suits.

At the same time, the _Archangel_'s catapults also opened up as the Strike and the Exia were loaded onto them.

"Mu La Flaga. Strike launching."

"Chris Dante. Exia launching."

The two machines took off, the Strike's phase shift activating. The next two machines were loaded onto the catapults.

"Saul Kessel. Surge takin' off."

"Dearka Elsman. Buster launching."

Both cleared the catapults and took off as the next two were loaded on as well.

"Nisha Itsuno. Z.A.M. Gundam launching."

Wing Zero took off with only the roar of fire and noise being the indicator that it was launched.

They cleared the catapults and the final two machines were loaded.

"Liz Dante. Dynames launching."

"Nicol Amalfi. Neo Blitz taking off."

The _Kusanagi_'s catapult opened. "Cagalli Yula Athha. Strike Rouge launching."

The Strike Rouge took off, followed by the Astrays. Meanwhile, the hanger doors of the _Odin_, the _Valkyrie_, and the _Einherjar_, opened. "John Alaric. Farsight II launching."

The Farsight took off, followed by the rest of the 11th Fleet's mobile suits.

Next up were the 7th Fleet's ships and machines.

"Tao White. Diver launching."

"Akira Nishikama. Wing launching."

The two machines took off with the rest of the elite unit's machines behind them.

"Alright, listen up boys and girls." John said to his pilots. "This is it. ZAFT and the Alliance are set to wipe each other out, unless we can stop them. And it falls to us, the men and women of the 11th Fleet, to clear the path for the rest of our forces. That means we can't stop for anything. We must break through the ZAFT lines to reach that weapon, which means we must fight and even kill our former comrades. Normally, I would ask you all to aim your shots carefully, but we don't have the time for that. For the sake of everyone within the PLANTs and on Earth, nothing can be allowed to stop us. 11th Fleet, move out!"

The warships and mobile suits of the 11th Fleet took off, heading for Jachin Due as the rest of the Clyne Faction prepared to follow after them. "Good luck out there everyone." John added.

* * *

_Jachin Due_

"So it begins." Zane said, powering up the Retribution. "The end of this wretched, accursed world. But it can't end yet. Not until I finish one thing first."

The hanger doors opened. "Retribution launching." Zane said, taking off.

* * *

_Jachin Due Control Room_

"Second mirror block is almost in place." an operator reported.

"Input the target data. Lunar surface, the Earth Forces' Ptolemaeus Crater Base." Wu ordered.

Officers rushed to input the targeting data. "Where is the location of the Earth Forces' reinforcements?" he asked.

"At Green Alpha 5, Mark 3."

Wu smirked. _'Perfect. We win, Naturals.'_

"Sir! Earth Forces are breaking through Area Seven!"

"We're almost ready. Tell our forces to hold on for a bit longer." Wu said to the man.

"Then shall I go as well?" Rau asked.

"Yes."

Rau nodded and started to walk away when Wu stopped him. "Le Creuset. I won't forgive any more of your blunders. The least you could do for failing to destroy the _Eternal_, is stop them from attacking the PLANTs with it."

"Even if that means killing Athrun?" Rau asked, not actually caring for his answer.

Wu scowled, barely containing his rage. "Of course!

Rau saluted. "Understood sir." he said before continuing to hanger.

* * *

_The Archangel_

"Captain! There's an unknown mobile suit approaching at Blue 12, Mark 4. Distance 600 and closing.

Chris knew who it was. _"I'll deal with him. You guys continue on ahead." _He said, heading for the approaching enemy.

"But..." Murrue started.

_"Don't worry about me." _Chris replied cutting her off. _"Like John said, we can't stop for anything. I'll hold him off by myself."_

"Very well then. But be careful."

The Exia continued on, heading to intercept the approaching mobile suit. When he could see the mobile suit with his own eyes, it only confirmed what he already knew. It was the Retribution.

_"It's time to end this once and for all."_ Zane said as the two approached each other. _"And what better place than where all of humanity will end."_

"It doesn't have to be this way Zane." Chris said. "When the Bloody Valentine happened, I became like you, angry and hateful at the world for what happened: Bluu Cosmos for doing such a thing. The Earth Alliance for letting Blue Cosmos to do such a thing, ZAFT for not being able to protect our home, even myself for not being there and dying with them. But I accepted those feelings and moved on."

Zane fired on him, but Chris dodged the shots. _"And that is why you and I are different. You have forgotten them. All of them. Jenn. Sara. Kai. Micheal. Johnny. Gabriel. My parents. Your parents. All of them died that day."_ he replied. _"I haven't forgotten them!"_

"Nor have I!" Chris shot back, firing his GN Vulcan. "Every day I remember them! I remember their faces! I remember their voices! I remember their smiles! I remember all the good times we had! I will never forget them! I'm just not fixating on their deaths! Nor am I trying to avenge their deaths by destroying everything!"

Zane sidestepped the shots, firing his right Punishment cannon at him. _"You think I'm doing this for them?"_ he asked as Chris evaded the shot_. "I'm doing this because this is what humanity deserves! After the Bloody Valentine, when Rau Le Creuset found me, I was broken. Pathetic. But he showed me the truth of humanity! We mistrust each other. We're intolerant of each other. We hate each other. And we kill each other! That's all we know how to do! That's all we ever do! Look at them! ZAFT and the Earth Alliance are about to wipe each other out for reason beyond their own hatred!"_

The two continued to exchange fire, but neither seemed to be able to be able to best the other. The Retribution had the superior firepower, but the Exia was faster and more maneuverable, allowing it to evade the fire of the Retribution. _"Naturals were envious of Coordinators. Coordinators looked down on Naturals. That's how it started. Then the Naturals grew to fear and hate the Coordinators for their enhanced abilities. While the Coordinators began to believe that because of their enhanced genes, they were the next, superior breed of human and grew to despise the 'inferior' Naturals whom they believed were holding them back."_ Zane said as they battled. _"Then men like Hong Fa Wu and Muruta Azrael, men that couldn't tolerate the existence of the other race, emerged and the Coordinators and Naturals willingly lined up behind those men. Why? Because they appealed to the true hearts and desires of people!"_

"You're wrong!" Chris shouted, as he flew around dodging Zane's firing. He pushed the controls hard to their limits and charged at the Retribution. "Coordinators. Naturals. We're all people. Flawed, but decent people. All of us have the same dream: to live a decent life. The petty hatred between Coordinators and Naturals must end. It brings nothing but suffering to everyone." he said, igniting the Exia's beam weapons. "Those were your own words! And you were right! That's all people want! To live a decent life in safety and security! But men like Azrael and Wu play on people's fears and problems! Blaming the other and getting their people to fear and hate them!"

A seed shattered in Chris's mind as the Retribution's bayonets activated. Zane thrust the beams forward, intending to impale the Exia with them. But Chris was faster. He turned the Exia on its right side and deactivated his left beam saber. The Exia flew dangerously close to the Retribution, its single beam blade cutting through the Retribution's left multi-phase cannon. Zane quickly discarded the cannon just before it exploded. The Retribution then spun around and fired its remaining cannons at the back of the Exia, but Chris managed to dodge the shots. "Looks like the Exia is at least as strong as one of your cannons." Chris said, turning back towards the Retribution.

Zane growled. _"You got lucky. But no more! I'll crush you with this mobile suit! Even if it's the last thing I do!"_ he yelled as his own seed shattered.

The Retribution's cannons let loose a furious barrage. Chris dodged most of the shots. But one found its mark, hitting the Exia's left shoulder. The Exia shook violently as its joint was hit. Chris quickly pulled it back to a safe distance and fired its GN Vulcan. One of the shots hit its target. The Retribution's remaining Punishment multi-phase cannon. The cannon exploded. _"Gah! I'm not beaten that easily."_ Zane said, drawing his beam sabers.

Chris drew his own sabers and the charged forward, their blades clashing. The Exia was strong, but the Retribution's power was far greater in terms of beam weaponry. The Retribution overpowered the light blue machine in some areas, pushing it back before bringing down his sabers. Chris sidestepped to the left. But he didn't quite make it. The Retribution's sabers sliced through the barrels of the Exia's GN Vulcan and right leg armor. Chris took that moment to thrust his left saber at the Retribution, but one of its sub arms rose up and blocked the saber with its own. Zane laughed as he kicked the Exia back. "Your luck has run out. You don't stand a chance against the Retribution in that piece of junk, even if it is a new machine."

The Exia flew back from the kick but it quickly righted itself. "It doesn't matter." Chris said. "I don't care how superior your machine is to the Exia! I will not lose! I will not let your insane dream happen! Even if I die here, I won't let you win!"

* * *

The Strike fired its rifle, destroying a Strike Dagger. He fired at another when he felt it. It was like the feeling he felt whenever Rau was near. Rau _was_ near.

* * *

Chris found his SEED pulsating in his mind before it shattered to reveal a pulsating light that then flared into a nova. It was indescribable. Zane fired his beam cannons at the Exia. But to Chris, he could see patterns he never knew existed and knew where the shots were going to hit, allowing him to avoid the shots and before Zane could react, sliced the tips of the cannons off. _"Impossible..."_ a stunned Zane whispered.

"I told you, I won't let you win." Chris replied. "That's four cannons down. It looks like the power of your cannons isn't as great as the Exia's."

The Retribution's remaining sub arm unfolded. _"Fine then."_ Zane said with all four of the Retribution's sabers casting a crimson glow on the mobile suit. _"We'll settle this with swords, something that I have a distinct advantage in."_

"We'll see." Chris replied.

Both pilot roared, charging forward.

* * *

_Jachin Due_

"Mirror block in place. N-Jammer Canceller activated. Connecting to nuclear cartridge. All systems connected. All clear to fire." an operator reported.

"Fire!" Wu ordered, unleashing GENESIS upon the Earth Forces again.

* * *

Nisha fired on a pair of Strike Daggers, which then exploded in twin balls of heat and energy. The missiles had found their mark.

He then turned and fired on another Dagger that was after him from behind. The cannon blasts hit their mark, taking out the Dagger as well as another one that was beside it. More wreckage floated amongst the combatants.

The Z.A.M. Gundam had taken some hits prior, but nothing too severe. He was just missing one of the missile covers for the chest chamber. Other than that, his machine was intact, save for that missing cover.

Nisha looked back, only to see the fighting still going on. How he wished that the fighting would end so that he could go back the life that he had once had before the whole mess had started. But it seemed impossible now.

His home had been destroyed by ZAFT, his cousin had joined ZAFT only to leave again, he had lost his mother and Tolle, and he had gotten into more combat than anyone else other than those on the ship he was now proud to call his home base.

He had no regrets on what he had done, and he had gotten a potential lover out of it. And if he was given the chance to do it all over again, he would. That was how happy he was with his decision to fight.

True, Nisha had come to hate the killing he had done, but it was all part of war, right? That was unavoidable true, but it could also be avoided if the circumstances were right.

And that he knew was always true.

* * *

Heero flew around, firing the Twin Buster Rifle at any Daggers that tried to swarm him in large groups. Given what they had seen in the aftermath of JOSH-A, it was not surprising that they felt large numbers were needed to overpower him. Still, he felt it was a bit too unnecessary to use such a tactic, as it only put more lives in danger than needed.

He fired his rifle at a group of twelve Daggers, wiping them out in one golden blast.

_"The Berserker of JOSH-A will fall!"_ one pilot yelled as he flew in from behind, only to get stabbed through the cockpit before his machine blew up.

Heero then dodged a beam rifle beam barrage, only to fire back at the three Daggers that had unleashed it. The three were destroyed with no trouble thanks to the Buster Rifle. Of course, Heero had not used it at full power, as there was no need.

The Gundam pilot looked back at the cannon, GENESIS, his eyes narrowed slightly. If there was a way to destroy it, then he would find it.

And he would…

* * *

Aki' fired his machine's Hellfire mini-missiles at a trio of Strike Daggers, taking them out in three explosions.

Turning around, he used the Wing's beam sabers to slice another two in half before he flew back, the explosions taking the enemy out. He looked back, only to dodge a Strike Dagger's beam saber that had been aimed at his cockpit.

"Damn it!" he swore before he called upon his SEED, which exploded in a shower of sparks. His eyes glazed over and dilated, he dodged another attempted stab before he took out the Dagger's arms and legs with two slashes.

Turning around, he flew at another Dagger, only to take out the arms and head. The damaged machine drifted in space, the pilot unable to fight back.

Aki' then heard his alarm bleep, and dodged a beam rifle blast that barely missed his cockpit. He looked back at the Dagger that had fired it, only to fire off a missile slew at it before the small warheads made contact with the other machine.

It exploded, taking out the pilot in a ball of heat and energy.

* * *

Tao flew around, using her machine's battle staff to take out any Daggers that tried to attack her. She slashed one in half before taking out the arms and leg of another. The first exploded, damaging the second even more.

She then turned on another Dagger, its pilot yelling at her over the com-line. _"Now you will die, space monster!"_

Tao felt fury unlike any other as a small blue-grey seed-like object exploded in the back of her mind. Her eyes dilated and glazed over, she attacked the pilot with the Diver's battle staff.

"YOU! YOU WILL PAY FOR THE DEATH YOU CAUSED!" she screamed as she stabbed his machine in the cockpit.

The pilot screamed as his machine blew up. Still filled with rage, Tao turned her wrath on everyone else who dared to attack her.

* * *

Liz sniped off a few Daggers from afar using the Dynames' GN Sniper Rifle. Each shot found their mark as a few zipped by, missing as well.

"Looks like I still need to practice my sniping skills." She remarked as another Dagger fell to her machine.

_'Maybe I can get John to help me when all of this is over.'_

That seemed like a good idea too.

* * *

_Washington D.C._

President Hilson looked on as guards from the Pentagon escorted people from the capital to the underground shelters that would shield them from nuclear fallout. She doubted that the shelters would stand up to the massive cannon that currently aimed at the Moon, based on the latest reports and data from New Juneau.

She knew that it was only a matter of time before the cannon was turned on the Earth, and she wanted to be prepared for such an event. That was why she had issued the evacuation orders.

The lines moved along, but they were still longer than he liked to see.

The president groaned loudly as she fell back into her seat, which was in the presidential limo, the Beast. She too was being taken to a shelter, despite her objections.

"Why do I have to go into the shelters too?" she asked. Agent Williams, the president's assigned guard, just looked at her.

"You are the leader right now. Your safety is more important than you might think." He replied.

President Hilson groaned again. Looking up at the sky above the Beast, she could only hope that the agent was alright.

* * *

_NASA missile silos_

Techs ran around, trying to make sure that all the missiles were in their launch silos before moving onto the next batch of missiles. Installing the NJCs was still ongoing, but with the test proving that the missiles still worked, the time for checking each one was now shortened to allow for more to be checked out.

The time that they had was getting shorter and shorter as the massive cannon prepared to fire again.

That was what was making the people working on the missiles so anxious. They wanted to get the project as far as they could before the cannon fired at them once more. True the blasts so far had not hit the Earth, but they were not going to take a chance.

Time was on their side right now, but the techs knew that it could change at any moment.

Soldiers stood guard with Traverse units out front, the doors to the silos blockaded. No one could enter or leave without an ID and anyone without one would be chased off by the Traverse units and their pilots.

"We have to hurry! That thing could be fired at the Earth any minute! We need to get these missiles online and loaded into the silos before the warehouse is struck! The last thing we need is to suffer nuclear fallout from the explosions!" a guard shouted as the missiles were loaded into place with loud hisses and _CLICK_s.

Many more were hauled into storage rooms that were lined with the armor that was used in Traverse machines, which happened to be the same as the Gundanium used in Wing Zero, although they did not know it at the time.

The soldiers closed up the massive doors, also made out of the same armor, before they were locked so that no one except for the soldiers and techs involved could open them.

"Doors are sealed sir!" an aide reported as the she ran up.

"Good. Now let's get out of here!" the guard ordered as everyone ran out of the missile silo where they had been stationed.

Everyone ran out into the desert, where their cars had been parked, only to begin to drive off to the areas where the bunkers and shelters for nuclear fallouts had been placed.

This was one thing that they could not avoid, even if they wanted to.

* * *

_Pentagon_

John Keller looked up at the massive cannon that was now in use. He could not believe what was going on. First one of NASA's top shipping companies sends the Earth Forces NJCs when they should not have, now this!

He reflected on the NJCs being sent to the AEU, unable to grasp how the person in charge of the shipping route could have been a Blue Cosmos supporter. Yet he had been. Keller and the higher-up members of the company had been shocked when they had seen the roster and how two ship containers of NJCs had been sent to Blue Cosmos.

How they had missed that, Keller did not know, but in the end, it had been too late to retrieve those NJCs, even though NASA had the right to demand them back. But, knowing the AEU, they would have demanded that NASA back off or they would fire missiles at NASA's cities.

Still, it made him mad that NASA had lost some of their newest weapons to the EA, all thanks to Blue Cosmos. And the new matter before him now did not help in the least either…

* * *

_New Juneau_

The NAZAFT officers ran around, trying to get any info on the massive cannon they could. Yet there was little to no info that they could glean from the data files of the PLANTs.

"Damn it! They really hid those files on it well!" a NAZAFT officer said as he slammed his hand down on the console. The data codes flashed over and over as they tried to hack in to see if there was any way to take out the massive weapons.

But it seemed that there wasn't…

* * *

The final battles continue, with each side racing to wipe out the other. What awaits now? Read on to find out! :3 Flames, AKA, hate filled/spamming reviews, **_will_** be deleted **_AND/OR_** reported depending on if they are signed or not. Anyway, read and review! ^^


	37. Phase 36: The Final Light

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. Nor do I own Martin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: That is what NASA is there for. They are the balance between the two bigoted sides. As for the Astray girls, I may have one survive, but we'll see. :)**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :)**

**A0930: Is this character Shinn? I would love to hear which character it is, even if it isn't Shinn himself. :) As for Marie, no, she will not be assassinated because she is well-guarded and has training from her time as a soldier. XD And as for Chris, he has reached the evolved form of the SEED, the STAR Factor. But there more to the SEED than you know... ;3**

**Just a Crazy Man: I'm fine and thanks. :)**

**Bvh - Inconsistent Guest: **PLEASE **use a** CONSISTENT** user name, as in the **same user name as last time!** Geez...**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those with an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you are a guest without an account, **PLEASE** put **THE SAME** guest name over and over again so it is easier for me to respond to you. Thanks!**

* * *

Phase Thirty-Six: The Final Light

GENESIS fired once more. It's massive beam streaking past the forces fighting at Jachin Due, heading for the Alliance's Ptolemaeus Crater Base. But in its path were the reinforcements for the Earth Alliance fleet currently fighting at Jachin Due. Just like before, there was no defense against such a weapon. Much of the fleet was annihilated in a matter of seconds. While the beam continued on its path, reaching the Ptolemaeus Crater Base. Even at that distance, the beam was just as destructive, destroying the entire base in an explosion to rival any nuclear blast.

But even then, it didn't stop the intense, brutal fighting between the ZAFT forces and the Alliance forces. The Earth pilots knew that GENESIS could be fired at the Earth, wiping out everything and everyone on the planet. Just as the ZAFT pilots knew that the Alliance still had nuclear weapons that could be used against the PLANTs, destroying them and killing millions. While some pilots still fought to wipe the other race out, most fought on for one simple reason: to ensure the survival of their homes and loved ones.

* * *

_The Dominion_

"Ma'am! Message from the reinforcement fleet." Flay reported as the message came in. "Half of the fleet has been wiped out!"

Natarle could only grit her teeth in frustration. With Ptolemaeus gone and half of their reinforcements gone, things were not looking good for them. Their only hope now was to punch a hole in the ZAFT lines for the Peacemaker Force to destroy GENESIS.

Suddenly, Azrael bolted out of his seat, heading for Flay's station. He tore off her headset and opened a channel to the _Doolittle_. "Captain Sutherland! Ready the Peacemaker Force!" he frantically ordered. "Our target is the PLANTs!"

Natarle was stunned. The PLANTs? They needed to destroy GENESIS before it could be fired at Earth. "Director Azreal-"

"We'll destroy every last one of those goddamn hourglasses!" Azrael shouted. "Recall the Calamity, the Forbidden, the Massacre, and the Raider so they can clear a path!

Sutherland nodded. _"Roger."_

"But Director Azrael, that won't eliminate the threat to Earth." Naratle argued. "Our focus must be used to destroy that weapon!"

"Give me a break." he said in an annoyed tone as he reached into his coat. "Why must you always be such a bitch?"

He drew a pistol from his coat and pointed it at Natarle. Natarle's eyes widened in surprise while Flay stared at the gun less than a foot from her face in terror.

* * *

Clotho fired his beam cannon at CGUE, piercing its cockpit. "This is too easy." he commented.

_"Yeah. Where the hell are those strong opponents?"_ Martin pouted, mowing down a trio of GINNs.

At that moment, messages appeared on their consoles.

_Urgent._

_Priority One._

_Return to the Dominion to escort Peacemaker Force immediately._

"Aw...More babysitting." Clotho whined. "That's barely any fun."

_"Shut up dumbass."_ Orga said, heading, alongside the Forbidden, for the _Dominion_. _"You want to get in trouble?"_

Clotho growled, but followed them. Martin, on the other hand, was tired of doing what Azrael wanted. He wanted to find those three and finally break free from the man. Azrael would punish him for that later. But he didn't care. He wanted to fight those three machines that had constantly escaped destruction.

So, instead of following his teammates, he went in the opposite direction. Searching for someone worth fighting.

* * *

_The Dominion_

"What do you plan on doing with that thing?" Natarle defiantly asked. "Are you trying to take over this ship?"

"Take over? You really don't get it, do you? I've been in charge here from the beginning!" Azrael replied. "Your job is to follow my orders! Yet all you do is question every single order I give!"

"Message from the _Doolittle_." a bridge officer said. "Peacemaker Force is ready for take-off."

"Then have them launch! What about the Raider, the Calamity, the Massacre and the Forbidden?" Azrael demanded.

"The Raider, Calamity and Forbidden are returning."

"What about the Massacre?"

"It appears to be ignoring orders."

"What? Gah! Dammit!" Azrael cursed for moment before regaining a fracture of the composure he had a moment before. "It doesn't matter! Once the PLANTs are gone, this war will be over!" he ranted. "All Coordinators are a threat to Earth! So long as even one draws breath, Earth will be in danger! And our purpose here is to get rid of them all!"

"But that's-" Natarle started to say.

"Contain casualties to our own forces to a minimum while incurring maximum damage to the enemy." Azrael said, cutting her off. "That's how a war is supposed to be fought."

"That may be true, but at what cost?" Ensign Lockhart asked, making the man look at her. "That is the ideal way of fighting a war, but is it really worth it?"

Azrael just looked at her like she was nuts. "What are you getting at?"

"You are from the business world. What makes you think that you know how a war is fought?" the ensign asked. "If you know so much, then why are things continuing to go all wrong for you?"

Azrael just growled at her response.

* * *

_The Archangel_

"Captain! The _Dominion_ and several other ships are breaking off and heading for the PLANTs!" Sai said.

"They must have the nukes... Tell the _Eternal_ and the _Kusanagi_ that we'll deal with the _Dominion_." Murrue ordered. "Move us to intercept the _Dominion_ and the other ships!"

The _Archangel_ quickly caught up with her sister ship and the other ships. "Fire anti-beam depth charges! Load Sledgehammers!" Samuel ordered. "Aim Valiants and Gottfrieds! Target the Agamemnon-class!"

* * *

_The Dominion_

"_Archangel_ approaching. They're targeting the _Doolittle_!" an operator reported.

"What are you waiting for?" Azrael demanded. "Move us out front! We can't let them sink the _Doolittle_!"

Natarle just stood there defiantly. That didn't please Azrael. "If you won't do it, I'll shoot you!"

Natarle had no real choice. If she refused, he would shoot her and no doubt get everyone else on board killed. She sat back down. She'd fight to protect the ship and crew on board at least. "Maximum thrust! Turn bow twenty!" she ordered. "Fire anti-beam depth charges! Aim Gottfrieds!"

"FIRE!" both Murrue and Natarle yelled.

* * *

"Alright. Everyone, spread out." Yzak ordered as his team moved to intercept the nukes. "We can't let a single warhead get through!"

His team and the other teams with him spread out, casting a wide net that would hopefully catch the nukes. But at the head of the Peacemaker, were the Raider, the Calamity, and the Forbidden.

"Hmm...More pests." Shani said as the ZAFT machines approached.

_"Hey! Where the hell did Martin go?"_ Orga asked, looking around for their fourth teammate.

_"Who cares? Just means more for us."_ Clotho replied, firing on the ZAFT mobile suits with his railguns, gunning down three.

Yzak and his team surged forward, trying to overwhelm the three Earth machines. But the GINNs and GuAIZs just weren't a match for the power of those three machines. Many ZAFT pilots were cut down by the trio before they could reach them and the Peacemaker Force.

Yzak scowled. Most of his team was just a bunch of kids. Seeing them getting killed like that infuriated him. "Come on, you bastards!" Yzak shouted, firing on the Raider. "Why don't you try fighting me?"

The Raider transformed and nimbly dodged his shots and fired back with his railgun and machineguns. "You're gonna have to try harder than that!"

Yzak pulled up his shield, blocking the railgun rounds as the bullets impacted the Duel's armor. But Clotho wasn't the only one that wanted a piece of Yzak and the Duel.

The Forbidden lunged at the Duel with its scythe raised. Suddenly, a pair of arrestors shot out at the green mobile suit. But Shani saw them in the corner of his eye. The Forbidden spun and sliced through the arrestors' cables. _"I got your back Yzak!"_ Saya called out, firing at the Forbidden with her beam rifle.

However, her attack was useless as Shani pulled down his beam deflection shields, sparing his mobile suit from any damage. "Another weak one?" Shani said. "Then die like the rest!"

The Forbidden's cannon fired. Saya dodged the first beam with ease. She then narrowly avoided the second beam. But she ended up flying into the third. The beam blew off her shield and tore off the GuAIZ's left arm at the elbow. Saya swore as she fired back. But her shots either missed entirely or were harmlessly deflected.

But she did distract the Forbidden, allowing Yzak move in behind the machine, a beam saber drawn. Yzak roared as he moved in to attack. But it wasn't meant to be.

"Oh no you don't!" yelled Orga, firing at the Duel, forcing Yzak to pull back.

"Dammit." he swore. "Saya! Get out of here. You're no match for these guys in a GuAIZ."

_"Don't worry about me sir. I can handle myself."_ she replied, still desperately trying to get around the Forbidden's shields.

But she was so caught up in trying to get past those shields that she didn't notice the Raider approaching her from behind until the machine was practically right on top of her. She spun around. But it was already too late.

"Get out of the way pest!" Clotho roared, firing his hammer at the GuAIZ.

The heavy metal ball slammed into Saya's machine, sending her flying back. Saya fought to try to stop her machine. But it was too late. Orga took aim at her with his energy bazooka and fired. The shot hit its mark, piecing the GuAIZ's upper torso and going through the back of its head. A second later, the GuAIZ exploded.

"Saya!" Yzak shouted in horror.

A smug grin formed on Orga's face. "Bullseye."

This only served to enrage Yzak further. "You bastards!" he roared, firing his railgun at the Calamity.

The Calamity easily avoided the shots and fired back with his bazooka. Yzak blocked the shot with his shield, but the force of the impact knocked the shield out of the Duel's hand. Yzak silently cursed to himself. There was no way he could beat these three by himself.

"Guess this one isn't that tough." Shani said, his pack moving into position to fire his cannon.

Suddenly, a barrage of beams streaked towards the Forbidden. Shani barely managed to move his shields in time. "Gah! Who the hell took a shot at me?" Shani growled as everyone turned to the source of the shots.

The Surge, the Neo Blitz and the Buster were approaching. _"Looks like you could use some help Yzak." _Dearka said as the three of them fired on the Calamity, the Forbidden, and Raider, forcing them to back away from the Duel.

Yzak grunted. "What you guys doing here? I thought you weren't fighting for ZAFT anymore."

_"That doesn't mean that we can't help a friend."_ replied Nicol.

_"Yeah. And that's kinda rude to say that to the people helping you out."_ Saul added.

"Bastards! Eat this!" Orga shouted, firing at the four of them.

The Surge, the Duel and the Buster dodged his shots while Nicol used his Trikeros II shield to deflect the beams aimed at him.

_"We can talk later."_ Dearka said, returning fire with his beam cannon and gun launcher. _"Now's the time to kick some ass."_

But at that moment, the mobile armors fired their lethal payload. And the four of them weren't in any position to stop them with the Forbidden, the Calamity, and the Raider engaging them.

The nukes streaked towards the PLANTs unopposed, when suddenly the Freedom, Wing Zero, the Justice and the Strike Rouge appeared.

"Dammit! Don't you guys care about all the lives you're trying to wipe out!" Kira shouted as a seed shattered in his mind.

The Freedom and its METEOR fired every weapon they had. The beams and missile hit their targets, destroying a huge chuck of missiles in a couple of seconds.

Athrun took aim at the remaining missiles as his own seed shattered. Athrun let loose his own overwhelming barrage of fire, destroying the rest of the nuclear warheads. But it wasn't over yet. There was still a handful of mobile armors that yet to release their payload until that moment.

Athrun and Kira both moved to intercept the few remaining missiles when a wave of curving beams streaked towards them, forcing them to stop and take evasive maneuvers. "You're not stopping the lights this time!" Shani roared as continued to fire at them.

Cagalli, seeing all the others too distracted with their own battles to safely intercept the nukes, headed for the warheads. She fired her rifle. The first three shots missed their mark, but her fourth hit the lead missile. It exploded, taking all of the other missiles with it.

Heero also sped in to take out the rest of the nuclear missiles. He aimed the Twin Buster Rifle at the missiles before firing at full power. The massive golden beam sped out of the barrels and hit the missiles with no trouble at all. The massive group exploded into many smaller balls of light and energy within the golden beam of light.

* * *

The 11th Fleet tore through the ZAFT defense lines, fighting like men possessed. Lucius gunned down a CGUE and two GINNs with precision of a surgeon. A ZAFT GuAIZ fired its arrestors at Ajay's GuAIZ. But before they could reach him, he ignited his beam claws and sliced the cables in an instant. Before the GuAIZ pilot could react, Ajay fired his own arrestors at him. The arrestors grabbed onto the GuAIZ and Ajay charged at him, slashing through the GuAIZ. A _Nazca_-class and _Laurasia_-class moved to block the warships of the 11th Fleet, but Basque and his heavy weapons team attacked the ships, targeting their engines and weapons. "You're not stopping us!" yelled Basque as he fired open the _Nazca_-class's main cannons.

His heavy particle cannon made quick work of the _Nazca_-class's cannons.

But the 11th Fleet was incurring their own losses. A light blue GuAIZ gunned down another GuAIZ, only to be shot in the back by a pair of GINNs. A trio of GuAIZ overwhelmed white and red GuAIZ, bringing it down with a large barrage of beams.

John, atop the edge of the _Odin_'s catapult, was taking out taking out ZAFT mobile suits with his sniper rifle. Every shot he took, removed at least one ZAFT machine from the battle.

But even then, their advance was slowing. More ZAFT mobile suits and warships were moving to intercept them. They were starting to get overwhelmed by the numbers.

A GuAIZ and three GINNs rose up in front of the _Odin_, firing at the Farsight. John swore as he jump back to avoid their fire. He quickly pulled up his rifle and pistol. But before he could fire, a barrage of beams tore through them.

"Nothing but worms." Martin grumbled as he looked around the area. "Where are those two? Where is the white one and the red one?"

"Dammit. Not one of those guys." John said, taking aim the Massacre. "We can't deal with these guys now."

He fired. And the shot would have hit if two GINNs and a GuAIZ hadn't tried attacking the Massacre. "Worms!" Martin cheered as he dodged all of the shots. "Take a shot at me and I'll tear out your throats!"

The Massacre fired back, destroying the ZAFT machines with ease. However, during that, Martin noticed the Farsight atop the _Odin_. "YOU!" he howled. "Where are they, coward?"

John's response was simple. He jumped out the _Odin_ and took off, heading for the Massacre, firing at the crimson machine as he flew. The Massacre sidestepped his shots and fired back with missiles and Gatling guns. John pulled to the right, firing at the missiles as he moved to dodge the beams. "Diana, take command and keep on going. I'll handle this punk and catch up with you." ordered John.

Martin laughed. "You think that a coward like you can defeat me? Let me show you just how wrong you are!"

The Massacre suddenly charged forward at the Farsight as John fired on him. Though the Massacre dove and sidestepped John's fire, it didn't return fire with its own weapons or draw a beam saber, catching John off guard. The Massacre slammed into the Farsight, tossing it back. "DIE!" Martin cheered, raising the Massacre's Gatling guns and opening its chest plate.

At that range, there was no dodging. John was dead...

Suddenly, beams tore through the small area between them, forcing Martin to back away on reflex. Martin turned to the source of the beams, only to come face to face with a pair of purple arrestors. Martin pulled his left Gatling gun in front of him like a shield. One arrestor grabbed one of the gun's barrels while the other grabbed the base of the weapon. _"Now, sir!"_ Diana shouted as she held the Massacre in place.

John discarded his rifle and drew one of his sabers. He lunged at the Massacre as Martin fought with Diana to break free of her grasp. But as John brought his saber down, Martin detached the Gatling gun and lept back, avoiding the beam blade entirely.

"I thought I told you to take command and keep going." John said.

_"Sorry sir. But I felt that you could use the assistance."_ Diana replied. _"Was I mistaken?"_

John sighed. "No. You're right of course. Let's deal with this guy quickly and head back to the fleet."

* * *

"I'll give you credit. You are strong but no match for me." Chris said.

Their duel had intensified. But Zane was struggling to keep up. The Retribution had already lost its left foot while the Exia had been untouched since they had started their saber duel.

_"Dammit! RAAAGH!"_ Zane roared as swung his sabers at the Exia. Again, it dodged his attack. _"Impossible! How can you keep avoiding every move I make?!"_

"Well, I could ask how you've become so slow and predictable." Chris replied. "I can see your movements quite easily. You might as well surrender. You can't beat me now."

_"Impossible...You've become like them? The SEED evolution users…?"_ Zane paused for a moment, gritting his teeth in frustration. _"No matter! I'll defeat you regardless of that!"_

"If you mean becoming a Newtype, then you're wrong. I am not one of them. I can just see the patterns you make much more easily." Chris replied.

Zane lunged at the Exia, swing his sabers wildly. But Chris dodged, blocked or countered every swing he took. _"DAMN YOU!"_ he screamed, his attacks becoming more wild and desperate. _"I WILL NOT LOSE TO YOU EVER AGAIN!"_

Every time the two had battled, the best Zane could ever achieve was a stalemate. But every draw, every defeat, every battle, had pushed him forward, driven him to become stronger, to become stronger for this battle. He would not allow himself to lose here!

Suddenly, something snapped within Zane. Both pilots paused. Chris stopped when he felt something emerge from the Retribution, a feeling that caused a shudder to crawl up his spine. Zane, on the other hand, felt the entire world...no the entire universe becoming clearer before him. It was like he had, up until this point, seen everything through a fog, but now the fog had lifted from his eyes.

Not taking a chance, Chris rushed at the Retribution, intending to end the duel right there and then. He swung his sabers down on the Retribution. Only to have the blades perfectly blocked but the Retribution's blades.

Zane started laughing. _"I saw it! I saw that attack!"_ he said, a grin on his face. _"Everything has become so much clearer now! Ha ha ha ha ha! It's funny! Creuset always looked down me because I lacked what he had! I was always second to her! Because I didn't have what she had! Her! Creuset's failure! And yet I was always second to her! Even after she rejected him and his quest! But not anymore! That doesn't matter anymore! Nor does your new ability! Because now, we are equal! I am a Newtype!"_

"Indeed we are." was Chris's only response. "Indeed we are. But I am far from a Newtype. I might lack the awareness that you might have now gained, but I have something more, something that only I can use now!"

* * *

_The Doolittle_

"Have all units target those two mobile suits!" Sutherland ordered. "How many nukes do we have left?"

"Eight mobile armors have yet to be deployed."

"Then launch them!"

"Sir!" the radar operator shouted. "Incoming mobile suit!"

"Shoot it down!" screamed Sutherland.

But it was already too late.

"For Junius Seven!" Liz roared, firing at _the Doolittle_.

The Dynames's beams hit the _Doolittle_'s bridge tower, destroying the bridge and creating a chain reaction that consumed the entire ship, obliterating it.

"One down, three more to go." Liz said, heading for the next Agamemnon-class.

* * *

"_Possibly, humans can exist without actually having to fight. But, many of us have chosen to fight. For what reason?"_

* * *

Raider, in its mobile armor mode, strafed the Justice, hitting it with railgun rounds and bullets. Knocking Athrun back a bit, but did little else. Athrun fired off a number of missiles as the Raider flew past. Clotho quickly spun around, transforming the Raider back, and firing several shots at the missiles, destroying them. But Athrun didn't let up, swinging the METEOR's large beam sabers at the Raider.

"What's the deal with you two anyway? Why are you fighting so desperately?" Clotho asked, a desperate tone in his voice, as he evaded more of Athrun's swings.

_"I want to ask you the same thing. What do you guys think you're fighting for?_" Athrun replied.

"Don't ask me, I don't really know." Clotho paused. "...I hate losing. That's my only reason!"

_"What?"_

"Not that I would ever lose!" Clotho yelled as he spun around and fired at the Justice.

"Die!" Shani roared, firing his plasma cannon at the Surge.

Saul nimbly dodged and sidestepped the curving beams, firing his beam rifle as he did_. "It's gonna take more than wild shots to get me."_

Saul fired his claw at the Forbidden. To his surprise, Shani pulled up his pack and grabbed the claw's cable with one hand. "Aw shit..." Saul said just before Shani pulled on the cable.

The Surge flew forward, towards the Forbidden, which had lowered its scythe. It's spiked tip ready to impale the Surge. Saul quickly drew one of his swords and sliced through the cable. The Surge stopped. "Okay. Now I'm mad." Saul said, drawing his other sword.

Elsewhere, Cagalli and a pair of Astray pilots were battling a group of Strike Daggers. Cagalli fired at a pair of Daggers, shooting one down and severing the leg of the other. "Ha! You guys aren't so tough!" Cagalli gloated.

_"Lady Cagalli! Behind you!"_ one of the pilots shouted.

Cagalli spun around. A Dagger, with a beam saber, lunged at her. Suddenly, one of the Astray pilots dove in between the Strike Rouge and the Dagger, firing her rifle as the Dagger's saber cut through the Astray. Both exploded.

_"Lady Cagalli!"_ the other Astray pilot said, approaching her. _"Are you-"_

He never got a chance to finish his sentence. A Strike Dagger shot him from behind. "Damn you bastards!" Cagalli screamed, a seed exploding in her mind.

She quickly fired, destroying that Dagger, before taking down three more in rapid succession.

_"I've taken care of the ships carrying the nukes."_ Liz's voice said, suddenly coming over the comm. _"We don't have to worry about anymore nukes being fired."_

_"You heard her, Athrun."_ Nicol said, evading the Calamity's shots. _"Go on and stop GENESIS. The four of us will deal with these guys."_

Athrun nodded. "Alright. We'll stop GENESIS. But you guys better not get yourselves killed." he said as he, Heero, Kira, and Cagalli took off for GENESIS.

"Just go already!" Yzak shouted. "We'll take these punks down!"

* * *

"_To protect something? Protect what? Ourselves? The future? If we kill people to protect ourselves and this future then what sort of future is it and what will we have become?"_

* * *

"Le Creuset!" Mu roared as he fired on his longtime rival and enemy.

Rau smirked as he dodged the Strike's fire ease and fired back. Rau had hoped that he would have a chance to see Mu again before it all ended.

Mu dodged his beams with the same ease. "Is this what you were hoping for, you bastard?"

_"You shouldn't blame me!"_ Rau yelled, releasing his DRAGOONs. _"This is mankind's dream, mankind's desire, mankind's destiny!"_ he ranted as Mu struggled to dodge the numerous beams coming from multiple directions. _"To be the strongest, to go the farthest, to climb the highest!"_

A beam destroyed Mu's rifle, but otherwise, Mu had managed to evade his shots. "You're pathetic!" Mu shot back, drawing a beam saber and lunging at Rau.

Rau activated his shield mounted beam saber, blocking his attack. _"To compete, to envy, to hate each other, and to devour one another!"_

"I won't let your twisted logic make things worse!" Mu said, backing off for another attack.

_"But you're too late, Mu. You see... I am the product of all of this! That's how I know!"_ Rau said, firing from his DRAGOONs again. _"I know that humanity will be swallowed by the darkness it's created!"_

This time, the beams blew off the Strike's right arm and left leg, sending the mobile flying like a rag doll.

* * *

"There is no future for those who have died. And what of those who did the killing? Is happiness to be found in a future that is grasped with blood stained hands?" Lacus said, her pupils dilated. "Is that the truth?"

* * *

Two pink beam sabers met and clashed with four crimson beam sabers. Both the Exia and the Retribution looked like they had been through hell. There were dents and gashes on both mobile suits. But still they fought on. Both machines groaned as they fought to overpower the other. Normal pilots would have retreated from the battle by now. But neither of these pilots was willing to back down. Even had their mobile suits collapsed under the strain of their battle, they would have kept on fighting.

"I've got you now!" Zane said, pulling the sabers in the Retribution's sub arms back.

His plan was clear and obvious. With the Exia's sabers blocking the Retribution's other two sabers, those two would cut through the Exia's chest. The sub arms swung down. _"That's not going to work!" _Chris shouted.

The Exia's turbine on its back revved, releasing green particles that jammed the sensors for the sub-arms as they dropped. The Exia's blades sliced through the forearms of the sub arms. The energy blades of the two sabers instantly died, sparing the Exia any damage.

_"See. If you had done that during our encounter yesterday, that probably would have worked." _Chris said as he broke away from the Retribution. _"But now...Now that won't work on me!"_

Zane scowled. "Don't think you've beaten me. These two sabers will be more than enough for you."

_"That a look at your machine. It's got what, another two attacks left in before it completely falls apart?"_ Chris replied.

"Then take a look at your own machine." Zane shot back. "I doubt you have anything beyond two attacks left. In fact, I doubt you have all that much power left your battery, whereas I am in no danger of running out of power."

_"Maybe. Maybe not. Regardless, this battle is about to end. This will be our final attacks. And as for your statement earlier, I do not have a battery in this new machine of mine."_

"Yes it is. And I've already seen the outcome: your machine in pieces!" Zane roared, charging at the Exia.

_"I don't think so. I happen to see something very different!"_ Chris shouted, charging the Retribution.

The two machines struck. The Exia's left saber stabbed into the joint between the Retribution's right shoulder and body as the Retribution's right saber cut into the Exia's left shoulder, damaging it. Meanwhile, the Exia's right saber sliced through the Retribution's left forearm, severing it.

Zane's eyes widened surprise as the Retribution's limbs flew off. Before he could react, the Exia kicked the Retribution, slamming it into a large chuck of debris. Zane attempted to pull the Retribution off the debris, but the crash had caused shrapnel to become lodged in the Retribution's main thrusters, damaging them and immobilizing the machine. He looked up. The Exia was hovering over him. "Well? What are you waiting for? End it."

Chris shook his head. _"No."_

"What? Are you insane?" Zane shouted. "If you don't kill me now, I'll keep on coming after you! And I won't stop until one of us has been destroyed! You know that!"

_"Perhaps. Perhaps not."_ he replied. _"You and I were friends once. And I hope that you and I can be friends again one day. Perhaps this act of mercy will show you that there is still some good in humanity."_

And with that, the Exia took off, leaving the stranded Retribution. "Coward! Come back! Come back and finish this!" screamed Zane. "If you don't, I'll hunt you down! I swear it! I'll destroy you!"

* * *

_The Archangel_

The battle between the _Archangel_ and the _Dominion_ had reached a standstill. Both ships were in rough shape. Their hulls were pitted with holes and gouges from their weapons. Both ships had lost one of their Gottfrieds. The _Archangel_ had lost its Valiants while the _Dominion_ had lost its right radar array.

"We've sealed off weapons bank eight." Murdoch reported.

"The Strike is returning. It's been damaged." Miri said.

Murrue gasped. "Open a channel."

Mu appeared on the main screen. _"Damn that new machine of Creuset's."_ Mu cursed. _"I'll get him next time."_

"You can report on that later." Murrue said, pulling up her phone. "Ground crew, set up the emergency landing net! Medical staff on standby!"

One of the _Archangel_'s catapults opened for the approaching Strike.

* * *

_The Dominion_

Azrael watched as the _Archangel_'s catapult opened for that damaged mobile suit. "Now's our chance! Fire the Loengrin!" he shouted. "Sink that ship!"

Natarle could only grit her teeth. There was nothing she could do to stop him.

But Flay, on the other hand, _could_ do something to warn them. "_Archangel_! Get out of there!" Flay yelled over the comm. "_Archangel_-"

Azrael grabbed her and pulled her from her seat. "How dare you! Bitch!" he screamed, slapping Flay and sending her flying in the low gravity. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

He drew his pistol and pointed it at her. Suddenly, Natarle tackled Azrael, reaching for his gun. The gun fired several times, hitting the deck.

"What the hell are you doing?" Natarle shouted at the man.

"I know what I'm doing! To you!" Azrael yelled back, grabbing her collar as the two wrestled for the gun.

"All hands, abandon ship!" Natarle yelled to the rest of the crew.

Most of the bridge crew didn't need to be told twice and fled the bridge for the escape boats. But Flay didn't. Natarle pushed her and Azrael to the front of the bridge. "Go!" she shouted to Flay. "Get to the _Archangel_!"

Flay knew she had no other choice. But still, she didn't want to leave Natarle with the _man_. In the end, she reluctantly followed the rest of the bridge crew out of the bridge, all except one.

"Damn you, bitch!" Azrael screamed as they fled.

"If you are the commander... If you are in the position to give orders-"

_BANG!_

Natarle gasped. The gun had gone off. A bullet pierced her side. Azrael pushed her off, slamming her into a console. Azrael headed for the door, pausing a moment to glare at her. "I hope you realize what's going to happen to you for treating me like this!"

Natarle managed to pull herself to her chair and push a button, sealing the bridge just before Azrael reached the door. "You're a monster who deserves to die...right here with me..."

A bullet tore through her right shoulder, sending her to the ground. "Damn you! Open that door!"

Natarle simply smirked.

_BANG!_

Another bullet. This time, it hit her left shin. Azrael glanced over his shoulder. The _Archangel_ was still the position to finish them off. "Dammit! I can't die here!" he said, heading for the weapon control console.

He had one last option, one last way to win this. "I can still win this." he chuckled, typing away at the console. "That's right. I was always win."

Natarle tried to get up to stop him, but she was too late. One of the _Dominion_'s Lohengrins fired, the beam streaking towards the _Archangel_.

"Evade!" Murrue shouted as the beam grew closer and closer.

"It's too late!" Arnold yelled back, frantically trying to move the _Archangel_ in time.

Suddenly, the Strike appeared in front of the bridge, its shield out. The beam hit the Strike's shield. But it couldn't hold the beam for long. Its body began to fall apart under the strain. If Mu didn't move soon, the Strike would be destroyed. But if he did, the _Archangel_ would be destroyed.

_"Ha! Didn't I tell you...I'm the one who makes the impossible...possible..."_ Mu yelled.

The Strike exploded, sparing the _Archange_l any damage. Everyone was stunned. Everyone was silent. Save for Murrue, who screamed out Mu's name as her tears floated from her eyes.

"Impossible..." Azrael whispered.

Natarle let out a quiet, strained laugh. "Looks like you lose..."

Azrael was on her in an instant. "How dare you mock me?"

He slammed her into her chair. "I won't die here! I refuse to!" he ranted, grabbing the ship's helm.

"Well, you will." A female voice said. Azrael turned in rage, only to see Ensign Lockhart standing before him, a gun aimed directly between his eyes.

"What?! I though you left! How dare you!" he screamed at her.

Ensign Lockhart just laughed. "You honestly think that I am an Earth Alliance officer? Well, I have some news for you. You have just been duped. If you think about it, only one person could have sent me to kill you, and she humiliated you back on Earth."

Azrael's eyes grew wide in surprise and shock. "You're sent by the _President?!_"

Ensign Lockhart just narrowed her eyes. "Indeed I am. And this is for the crew of the _Churchill_, the very ship that you abandoned in its time of need." With that, she fired, hitting the man between the eyes in an execution style killing.

Aboard the _Archangel_, Murrue brushed the tears from her eyes, glaring at the _Dominion_. "Aim Lohengrin!" she ordered.

One of the _Archangel_'s Lohengrins unfolded and began charging.

"Murrue Ramius...STOP!" Natarle shouted.

This got Murrue to look up in shock. "What?!"

Natarle opened up the com-line. _"Azrael…has been…killed…"_

"By who?"

_"By me."_ A female voice replied. Murrue could hardly believe it was someone else.

Before her, on the screen, was an EA ensign, but she had a different air about her. _"I was on a mission that took me undercover as an Earth Alliance officer. And that mission, was to kill Director Azrael. The name's Ensign Dana Liam. I was sent on this mission by the President of the United States herself."_

Murrue couldn't hold back the tears any longer. Mu had been avenged, and by the President of the United States no less.

"Thank you…"

_"I'm sorry about your loss. If anything, I know what it is like to lose someone so close to you."_ The ensign replied.

"I assume you will be taking the _Dominion_ then?" General Dante asked.

_"Yes, we will. As of right now, this ship is now NASA property."_ Ensign Lockheed replied.

"…"

_"I really am sorry about the loss of the Strike and your lover. If anything, I just wish that I could have stopped it sooner."_ It was clear that the ensign was upset at her own failure to stop the attack.

"I know…but there was no way that you could have stopped it. It was just too close a shot to avoid…" Murrue replied.

_"Yeah…"_

* * *

Nisha flew around, firing on the enemy machines as he did so. Several Daggers were taken out in flashes of heat and energy.

Firing the Z.A.M. Gundam's missiles, he wound up taking out a cluster of Daggers that had been targeting Aki'. His cousin whirled around and fired, taking out a group of Daggers that had been targeting him in turn.

"Thanks, Aki'." Nisha said as he faced the Wing.

_"No problem."_ Aki' replied over the com-line.

The two then went into combat once more, taking out Daggers with their beam sabers as one unit. Pink flashed with gold, the two colors overlapping at times as well. Then, in the aftermath, the Daggers blew up in a column behind them.

* * *

Tao went crazy with a stolen beam saber she had taken from a Dagger she has destroyed earlier. Several Daggers tried to take out the Diver from behind, but she whirled around and slashed off the limbs of the incoming machines. The damaged machines drifted away from her, unable to move as a result of the damage she had done.

Looking back, Tao could see the other members of her unit as well as the Clyne Faction fighting to try and save the Earth. It was pure chaos on the battlefield. She frowned, but did not divert from her mission. She then went back to her own combat, taking out a GINN that tried to shoot her down.

* * *

Liz fired on several GINNs, taking out their heads with a decent amount of accuracy. For every shot that hit, one or two missed by a decent margin. John was impressed from what he could see.

Targeting with the Dynames's scope system once more, Liz fired again, only to hit a Dagger in the chest. The machine blew up, taking the pilot with it.

"Damn it!" she swore. She had not been aiming to shoot at the cockpit at all.

Still, she could not do anything about it, that much she knew.

Targeting once more, Liz went back to taking out GINNs that were after the _Archangel_ and the other ships of the Clyne Faction. It was not easy, but she had to do her job.

* * *

_Dominion_

Azrael drifted in the bridge, dead from his bullet wound to the head. Natarle was barely alive now, and she was losing blood fast. Ensign Lockheed had treated her the best she could, but there was nothing more that could have been done for her. Even the ensign knew when wounds were fatal.

"Why…"

Ensign Lockheed looked back at the wounded woman. "What?"

"Why… Why did…you…save me…?"

"I had a mission to do. That's all. I had no intention of saving anyone, to be honest. But when I saw what he did to you, I just could not sit back and let him get away with it." The young woman replied.

Natarle smirked beneath blood-caked lips. "He…deserved it…the…bastard…"

"Yeah. He did. Not to mention he was crazy in trying to wipe out the PLANTs." Ensign Lockheed growled. "Not even NASA would have been able to stop the attack. We just don't have enough ICMBs, or Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles, to carry that out."

Natarle coughed again, making the ensign frown. "Hey! You shouldn't be talking anyway! You need to save your energy for when New Juneau forces come for us."

The other woman just smiled weakly. "I won't…make it…until…then…and you…know it…"

"Yes, but you never know…"

Natarle just sighed. "You might have saved me, yes…but…the damage has already been done…"

"Damn it!" Ensign Lockheed swore as she hit the console of the bridge. "Why does Azrael always have to win in the end?!"

"He didn't…"

The young woman looked back. "How so?"

"The PLANTs…aren't they safe?"

"Yes but-"

"Then he lost…and NASA won…"

Ensign Lockheed could hardly believe what she was hearing. "NASA won? How?"

"By…killing him…in his…moment…of triumph…"

It then hit home on what Natarle was saying. By killing Azrael when he was at his near triumph, he had been denied the ability to see his success come about. And his ship had been seized as a result too.

"I see now…"

"Yes…so…use this…ship well…and prevent…another…near massacre…of all humans…" With that last sentence, Lt. Commander Natarle Badgiruel, Captain of the _Dominion_, died.

Ensign Lockheed could only stare in shock before she let out a cry of sorrow. The one woman she had managed to save had died despite her best efforts.

It always seemed that Blue Cosmos managed to take away those who NASA either saved or happened to be close to. Hanging her head down, her hair covered her eyes as tears fell away from her face.

It was always the same, and it never seemed to change, nor would it change any time soon…

* * *

_Washington D.C._

President Hilson looked up at the sky, wondering if the mission had been a success. Without communications, there was no way to really tell until the agent reached New Juneau.

And with the way things were at the moment, that would not be for quite some time he knew.

Sighing, the NASA leader walked away from the screens that showed the outside of the bunker where she was stationed just like the rest of the NASA populace.

She smacked her fist against the wall of the bunker, wishing that she could be outside where she could see what was going on. But, with that massive cannon that was aiming at the EA bases up in orbit, that was not likely to happen anytime soon.

President Hilson hated the fact that the PLANTs had developed such a weapon and were now using it against the Earth Forces in order to wipe out all Naturals, even those Coordinators on Earth! What was that crazy man Hong Fa Wu hoping to accomplish?!

The answer was plainly obvious, but the president hated the very obvious fact. "That man is a nutjob…" she murmured as he looked back up at the screen which showed the sky aboveground.

* * *

_NASA missile silos_

Techs were now stationed in the underground missile silos, where it was safest. Many were wishing that they could use the nuclear warheads, but they also knew that the cannon would wipe out the missiles with little to no trouble.

The silos doors were closed, so the people inside were safe from any nuclear fallout aftermaths. And yet they could not do anything to prevent such an outcome _because_ of the outcome.

All they could do was wait and hope that the nuclear fallout they all feared would never come about, even if it was just a fanciful dream.

* * *

_New Juneau_

The NAZAFT officers working on installing the ICBM launchers on the colony's exterior and interior could only watch the cannon, GENESIS, fire again, wiping out another Earth Alliance fleet. Their missiles were armed and ready to use should they be targeted as well, but even then it was like sticks against a sword.

Their missiles would be able to do maybe a little bit of damage, but in the end, the GENESIS cannon would do the most damage. It was a situation that they wished to avoid at all costs, even at the cost of abandoning the colony.

The NAZAFT commander could only observe the battles between the three forces; the Earth Alliance, ZAFT, and the newly termed Clyne Faction. It was a three way fight, which meant that there could be any winner. But if anyone had the chance to come out the winner, it was the Clyne Faction.

_'They have Omega One, or as Tao said, Wing Zero, on their side, which, if that display of power at JOSH-A was anything to go by, increases their chances of coming out the victors by a drastic amount.'_ She noted as she recalled that display of power she had seen quite some time ago.

Even with the famed 7th Fleet and the feared 11th Fleet on their side, it would have to fall to Wing Zero's pilot to wipe out GENESIS if all else failed.

The _Archangel_ and the rest of the ships seemed to have several surprises in store, maybe even some that had not yet been unleashed.

Wing Zero's power was one wild card that the faction had not yet played, so that meant they could play it at any time.

"Wing Zero…please find a way to defeat this threat…" she murmured. Deep down, she felt foolish for putting all of her hopes for victory on one machine and pilot, but given what she had seen, it was not entirely foolish to do so.

But it was not just the pilot's power. It was the team work that would be needed to take out the GENESIS that was the important factor. It was also the unknown factor that worried her. She was worried about whether the different factions that made up the Clyne Faction could work together to pull off such a feat.

She could only hope that they could find the ability to work together to overcome the GENESIS cannon. Otherwise, all would be lost, and all of humanity would be wiped out forever…

* * *

_NASA_

People were all underground, with only wildlife and vegetation thriving on the surface, unaware of the threat above it.

Bunkers were sealed off from the outside world, with both Naturals and Coordinators inside them for the time being. While many were concerned about the structural integrity of the bunkers and whether they could withstand such a powerful blast, others were worried about the aftermath. Would everything still be there, or would the surface be uninhabitable? They just did not know.

While the majority of the population was underground, a few fanatics crazy about the end of days had remained on the surface, awaiting the firing of the GENESIS.

They had been denied entry into the bunkers, and for a very good reason. If any of them carried weapons into the bunkers and the bunkers were sealed like they were now, there would have been no way for the others inside to escape being killed.

That was why the authorities had banned all weapons of any kind from being brought into the bunkers.

Still, others inside the bunkers were hoping, praying, _pleading_, that everything would turn out alright.

They did not want to lose their homes, or their lives that they had built from the ground up. Naturals hoped that their history and past achievements would still be there while Coordinators hoped that the home they had come to love would still be around.

But what most hoped for was for the nation and its founding documents to still be around. If the nation that they all called home was gone, then they would have to rebuild it from the ground up once more.

And that they wanted to avoid.

The population hoped that NASA-no, the _United States_-would still be there, because it was the only nation that most of them had ever known as home. If they lost it, then where would they live if there was radiation all over the country?

Most had no answer. All they could do was look up at the sky and pray for the GENESIS cannon to be wiped out…

* * *

The final battle is nearing the end. Enemy combatants are tired, and others have yet to finish their fights. What awaits now? Read on to find out! :3 Flames, AKA, hate filled/spamming reviews, **_will_** be deleted **_AND/OR_** reported depending on if they are signed or not. Anyway, read and review! ^^


	38. Phase 37: Towards and Endless Tomorrow

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. Nor do I own Martin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, Marie Hilson, Dana Liam, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: You will have to see~! ;3**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :)**

**A0930: Ah, so it is Meer. Okay. I can understand why. Flay will not get killed here. As I said, there is more to the SEED than you might think. That will be explained as the story goes along. :3 As for Meer, I have plans for her for the Destiny Arc, but how it ends for her is a spoiler, so I will not say. All I can say is that it involves Marie. ;3 And yeah, I get the two reviews here, so no need to be ashamed of it. Also, the way you explained why you hate Meer is actually very good, so I can now understand where you are coming from with your dislike of her. :)**

**KentLinuxStadfelt: Yeah, that never gets old, does it? XD**

**nmk - Inconsistent Guest: **PLEASE **use a** CONSISTENT** user name, as in the **same user name as last time!** Geez...**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those with an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you are a guest without an account, **PLEASE** put **THE SAME** guest name over and over again so it is easier for me to respond to you. Thanks!**

* * *

Final Phase: Towards an Endless Tomorrow

The battle around Jachin Due had intensified even more. The Alliance forces had smashed through most of the outer ZAFT lines and were battling the rear defense forces that were protecting the space fortress itself. But they weren't the only ones. The battered 11th Autonomous Mobile Fleet and damaged 7th Independent Mobile Fleet, formerly of ZAFT, had managed to slice through a section of the ZAFT line, opening a path for the _Eternal_ and the _Kusanagi_ to fire on GENESIS. But they had paid for it. The _Odin_ had sustained heavy damage to its port side. There were several large breaches in its hull on that side. The _Einherjar_ had lost its main cannon and had even more breaches in its hull. Out of the three, the _Valkyrie_ had sustained the least amount of damage. But even then, it was still in bad shape. Added to this, over a third of their mobile suits had been shot down.

The 7th had sustained some damage too. The _Constitution_ had lost its main cannon with a few breaches in the hull. The _Andrews_ had sustained several severe breaches in the hull and lost one of its guns. The _Orleans_ had the least amount of damage, but its catapult had been damaged severely as a result.

"I demand that ZAFT stop firing GENESIS." Lacus said as the _Eternal_ and the _Kusanagi _reached the 11th Fleet. "We've all experienced the pain and sorrow of nuclear attacks and yet now we are trying to do the same thing to them. If we fire that weapon, will it heal anything? If we kill more people who have done nothing wrong, is that justice? Do you still not realize what these attacks on each other are giving birth to?"

* * *

Kira, Athrun, Heero and Cagalli reached towards Jachin Due and GENESIS. Athrun desperately hoped he could still reason with his father's friend. Make him see the truth of what he was doing, before it was too late. But regardless of the outcome, Kira and others were going to destroy GENESIS.

Suddenly, Kira felt something. Something was wrong. He knew he had to check it out. Kira turned and headed off towards the source of the feeling.

_"Kira!"_ Cagalli called out as he left.

"Athrun. Heero. Take care of Cagalli. Something's wrong here." he replied.

* * *

_The Archangel_

Though they had defeated the _Dominion_, the _Archangel_ had paid a heavy price for their victory. Its hull had been pierced in a number of places. Most of its weapons were destroyed or disabled. And there were a number of fires raging within the mighty ship.

"Blocks 125 through 144 closed!" Sai reported.

"Thrust is reduced to fifty percent!" Arnold said, trying to keep the ship steady.

"Thirty-three percent of sensors have been damaged!" Miri added.

But Murrue wasn't in any condition to give orders. She sat in her chair crying.

Samuel rose up from the CIC. "We need to stop the fires now before they inflict more damage to the ship. Tell Murdoch to seal off the sections that are on fire and vent the air out." he ordered. "Once the fires are out and the air has been vented back in, they need to get the engines up and running."

"Ah...Yes sir." Sai said, rushing to carry out his order.

* * *

Rau flew past the wreckage of the _Dominion_. "Oh Azrael...What a disappointment you were." he commented.

Azrael could have at least taken a few of the PLANTs with him, but no matter. After GENESIS was fired at Earth, the surviving Earth bases on the moon would strike back with every last nuke they had.

Rau approached the _Archangel_. The legged ship had been a thorn in his side for too long. Then he saw it: the wreckage of the Strike. "And so the Hawk of Endymion has fallen. It's a shame that I wasn't the one to kill you." Rau said before he turned his attention to the _Archangel_.

He was about to fire his Judicium beam rifle at the ship, when he felt something. A presence he had never felt before. It wasn't Mu. It wasn't Suiren. And it wasn't Rey. So then who was it?

Suddenly, several beams streaked towards the Providence. Rau sidestepped the shots and turned to his attacker. The Freedom.

Kira lunged at Rau, igniting one of the METEOR's beam sabers. Rau flew up to avoid Kira's swing, deploying his DRAGOON as he did.

The DRAGOON pods spread out, firing on the Freedom. Kira pulled a quick series of rolls, twists and dives, evading the beams before firing the METEOR's missiles at the Providence. But the DRAGOONs quickly repositioned themselves and fired, creating a field of beams in front of the Providence, sparing it from harm. "You're nothing but a pest!" Rau shouted, firing his rifle.

A lone beam hit the METEOR's right cannon, forcing Kira to discard it before it exploded. But before the fireball had faded, Rau lunged at Kira with his beam saber ignited. Kira pulled up the remaining cannon, blocking the blade. Though he lost the cannon, the Freedom was spared any damage.

The DRAGOON pods let loose a barrage on the Freedom. Kira, somehow, barely managed to evade them. But before he could retaliate, Rau fired at him. "You're something that shouldn't have been allowed to exist, boy!" he shouted as Kira evaded his shots.

Kira fired his remaining missiles at the Providence, forcing Rau and his DRAGOONs to stop their attack on him, so they could shoot down the missiles. But they didn't last long. Kira fired the Freedom's railguns and cannons and the remaining cannons on the METEOR at Rau. But he effortlessly dodged them and returned fire with his pods. "If people learned of your existence, they would want to be just as you are. They would want to become like you." he ranted as Kira struggled just to avoid the numerous beams surrounding him.

A beam hit the METEOR's right wing, destroying its cannon and empty missile launcher. Desperate, Kira drew his beam sabers and started deflecting as many of the beams as he could.

"And that's the reason why your existence cannot be allowed!" Rau shouted as a DRAGOON hit one of the METEOR's engines.

_"Even if that's true..."_ Kira said, dodging the DRAGOON beams. _"I'm not defined by my abilities alone! And besides, I was never made into the Ultimate Coordinator! NASA prevented that!"_

He fired at a cluster of DRAGOON pods with his remaining guns. But the pods were too fast. The moved out of the line of fire before the beams could hit them before returning fire.

"What!? They did _WHAT?!_" Rau shouted as they continued to exchange fire. "That was not supposed to happen!"

Rau lunged at Kira's side. Kira pulled out of the path, but his METEOR ended up taking the hit.

And it was at that moment, that both pilots noticed the lifeboat flying nearby. And both could see Flay Allster on board. Kira detached from the damaged METEOR, heading for the shuttle.

Rau laughed as he took aim at the small craft. "Miss Allster. You've done quite well. Allow me to give you your reward!"

Kira pushed the Freedom to its limit. He wasn't about to let a repeat of the shuttle tragedy from so long ago occur. Rau fired his rifle at the shuttle. Just before the beam could hit, Kira pulled out his shield. The beam hit the shield, sparing the lifeboat from harm. A small smile crossed Kira's face.

But then he saw it, a DRAGOON pod moving into a firing position behind the shuttle. There wasn't time for him to do anything...

The DRAGOON pod fired. But a miracle occurred.

The Exia appeared in front of the shuttle, pulling up its shield to block the beam. The beam stuck the Exia's shield, destroying his shield and what remained of the GN Vulcan but sparing the shuttle from certain destruction.

Chris breathed a sigh of relief as he looked around in the cockpit. The Exia was finished fighting this battle. He was exhausted, but he had saved Flay, so it didn't matter. It was up to Kira, Athrun, Heero, and the others to stop Creuset and GENESIS now.

"Pathetic. Even with a nuclear powered machine, Zane lost to you." Rau said. "I had thought that the Retribution would have given him the power to destroy you once and for all. Even with that new SEED ability you've achieved."

_"He underestimated me. And that's why he lost."_ Chris shot back as he moved in front of the shuttle. _"Just as you are about lose."_

Rau started to laugh. "It doesn't matter if you two somehow manage to kill me! I've already won!" he shouted. "Humanity has brought us to this path! With their ignorance! Their greed! Their jealousy! Their hatred! Why, man is worse than animals! They're monsters pretending to be civilized!"

_"You're wrong, you masked freak! People aren't like that!"_ Chris shouted back. _"People are flawed, but most aren't like that! Most just wish to live decent life! It's people like you that are evil! Those few that are filled with nothing but hatred! You're the monsters! Not humanity!"_

Rau growled. "It's time to do what should have been done at Mendel years ago! You... Both of you are abominations, brought into this world as the goals of madmen and at the expense of others!"

Rau aimed the Providence's rifle at the Exia and fired. But Kira pulled the Freedom in front of it, blocking the shots with his shield.

But that was what Rau wanted. A pair of pods rose up from behind the two mobile suits and fired at the Freedom. Kira turned but it was too late. There wasn't enough time for him to dodge or block the shots...

Suddenly, the Z.A.M. Gundam slammed into the Freedom, pushing it out of the path of the beams. The shots tore through the machine's upper chest and right arm, severing the arm. The Z.A.M. Gundam's phase shift flickered briefly before it shut off. Electricity surged in and around the hole in the machine's chest and the stump of its right arm. The Z.A.M. Gundam was finished. They all knew it.

"NO!" Rau snarled.

Kira was stunned at his friend's sacrifice. _"Why..."_

Chris was also staring. Nisha had taken the blow he had meant to take! _"Nisha…"_

"I told you that I was fighting to bring Aki' to his senses, but well, that changed. I wanted to see you live on to change the world for the better. And I have." Nisha replied as danger lights and alarms were going off in the Z.A.M. Gundam's cockpit. "I want you to do something for me Kira. Stop this bastard, tell Liz I love her and tell her and Aki' I'm sorry."

Nisha closed the comm and his eyes. It was over. He survived numerous battles only to fall here, at the final battle. But in the end, he had no regrets. Had he known what lay ahead of him when he first entered the Z.A.M Gundam's cockpit, he still would have piloted it.

_'Scratch that. I have one regret. That I didn't get to see Liz one last time...'_

Suddenly, there was a blinding light, an instant of pain, and then oblivion claimed him.

* * *

"NO!" Kira screamed as the Z.A.M. Gundam exploded, the fireball engulfing the Freedom.

The Providence's DRAGOONs returned and it took off. Rau laughed as he left. The Z.A.M. Gundam was gone and chances were that the Freedom had been damaged in that explosion and won't be chasing after him any time soon. "Now to deal with Lacus Clyne." he said.

* * *

Flay smiled as she saw the white mobile suit block the beam of the mobile suit from her nightmare. Then the new machine appeared. It was damaged but for the first time, in a long time, Flay felt truly safe. But her smile quickly disappeared when the Z.A.M. Gundam pushed the white mobile suit out of the path of a pair of beams. The Z.A.M. Gundam's armor turned off as it started to shake violently. Then she heard the word over the radio. The word she would never forget for the rest of her life.

_"Nisha…"_ It was Chris's voice. He sounded…upset…

An instant later, the Z.A.M. Gundam was consumed in a ball of fire along with the white mobile suit and Chris's machine. At that moment, Flay froze. The outside world seemed to become nonexistent, save for her and the fireball that destroyed the Z.A.M. Gundam. It couldn't be possible... Nisha couldn't be dead... It couldn't be real...

But it was…

While Chris was still alive, some small part of her was not…

The outside world returned. Flay screamed out Nisha's name, tears pouring out of her eyes, her fists pounding on the window.

* * *

Aki' stared as his cousin pushed the Freedom out of the way. He could not believe that his cousin had done such a thing. He was so preoccupied with the scene that he did not see the Strike Dagger heading his way until it was nearly too late.

The warning bleeped, making Aki' look back and move his machine out of the way, but just barely. The beam saber struck the side of the Wing just as Aki' took out the Strike Dagger with his beam saber, making him cry out a shrapnel hit his helmet, cracking the protective visor and forcing a piece of glass to hit his left eye, leaving a nasty gash on the eyelid, even though the eye itself was intact. He looked up, one eye squinted shut, only to see the Z.A.M. Gundam explode before his very eyes.

The NAZAFT pilot could only stare as tears began to run down from his uninjured eye. He listened for his cousin's voice over the radio, but there was nothing. Aki' looked at the spot where the Z.A.M. Gundam had been only a few seconds prior. It was just not happening, he told himself. But it was.

Grief struck Aki', making him cry out in sadness and sorrow as he finally realized that his cousin was dead. He pounded the console, his teeth gritted and his eyes hidden by his hair. Tears floated by his vision as he finally cried for his cousin. _"NNNIIIISSSSHHHHAAAA!"_

* * *

Chris stared in shock as the Z.A.M. Gundam exploded before his eyes. He had just been saved by Nisha, only for the other boy to lose his life. Tears began to come forth, the pain of losing another friend in the war strong as ever. He pounded his console in frustration. He should have been the one who died! Not Nisha!

The Exia's pilot then cried out in anguish. _"NNNIIISSSHHHAAA!"_

* * *

_The Archangel_

Murrue, Samuel, and the rest of the bridge crew could only watch the distant lights of battle from the Freedom and its unknown opponent. As much as they wanted to, they were in no condition to support Kira.

"Archangel! Archangel, _this is Liz!"_ Elizabeth called as the Dynames approached the ship. _"Are you alright?"_

Suddenly, there was an explosion from where Kira was fighting. _"Whoa...What was that?"_ Liz asked she pulled alongside the _Archangel_.

Miri let out a loud gasp. Everyone else on the bridge turned to her. "I-I...I just lost the Z.A.M. Gundam..." she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

* * *

Liz perked up when she heard Aki's cry of anguish. She looked back at where the explosion had been, only to see the remains of the Z.A.M. Gundam drifting in space. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she recalled Nisha and her kissing before the battle even began. The remains before her struck home, making her cry at the realization that Nisha was really dead.

She began to sob as she sat in the Dynames. Tears floated around her helmet, blurring her vision. Her hair hung in her face, hiding her eyes as she cried out of loss for the one she had come to love.

* * *

The Freedom was thrown downwards from the force of the Z.A.M. Gundam's explosion. But Kira quickly stopped the Freedom's fall and took off for Jachin Due. His eyes dilated and his face barely containing the anger and sorrow he felt.

* * *

Saul, Nicol, Yzak and Dearka weren't fairing that well against Shani, Clotho and Orga. The Extended and their machines were just too good. Shani swung his scythe down on the Duel. Yzak barely managed to avoid the swing, but lost his rifle in the process. Orga fired his cannon at the Surge and the Buster. Saul was able to dodge the shots, but Dearka wasn't so lucky. A beam tore through the Buster's left shin, severing the limb. Dearka fired back with his cannons and missiles. But the Calamity was able to evade the beams and shoot down the missiles. Nicol had been forced to stay behind his shield because Clotho was firing his beam cannon nearly nonstop at him. Suddenly, the Raider's hammer slammed into the Neo Blitz's shield, tossing the machine back like a rag doll. Clotho smirked as he aimed his Zorn beam cannon at Nicol. "Game Ov-AAAAAAAAH!" Clotho screamed as the drugs burned out of his system and the withdrawal pain hit him.

He wasn't alone either.

_"AAAAAARGH!"_

_"GAAAAAAAH!"_

The Raider, the Forbidden and the Calamity all stopped. Their pilots were screaming and thrashing in agony.

"We're out of time!" Orga screamed. "We...have to...get back!"

But the _Dominion_ was dead in the water, taken out by the _Archangel_. Azrael was gone. But so were the doctors and the medicine to take the pain away.

"Where?" Clotho screamed. "_Dominion_'s gone!"

That was the question. Where could they go? The Earth Alliance Fleet was a fair distance away, and in retreat. And even then, they didn't have the medicine to take the pain away.

The former members of the Creuset Team stared at their now defenseless opponents. They could hear them screaming in agony over the comm. They weren't sure what they were going to do now. None of them were the kind to fire on defenseless targets.

"What are we going to do with them?" Nicol asked.

_"Don't know."_ Saul replied. _"But I'm not gonna fire on them as they are now."_

_"Me neither."_ Dearka added.

_"Let's just leave them then."_ Yzak said.

"What? And leave these guys here to die? They don't deserve that." Nicol said forcefully, surprising the others with his tone.

"Well, what do you suggest then?" Saul asked.

"We take them back to the _Archangel_."

_"You can't be serious Nicol. These guys have been trying to destroy us since ORB."_ Dearka exclaimed.

"Still. We can't just leave them here." Nicol said.

Saul sighed. _"He's right, of course. I'll get this one with the scythe."_

The Surge moved to grab the Forbidden. Suddenly, the Forbidden backed away from him. It's movement jerky and clumsy. _"Get...get back! I'll kill-AAARGH! You!"_ Shani managed to say as he raised his scythe defensively.

Orga and Clotho raised their own weapons as well. Like Shani, they're movements weren't anywhere near as good as they normally were. Nicol, Saul, Dearka and Yzak could easily take them out if need be. But none of them attacked. The pain overwhelmed Shani. He let out one last scream before passing out from the pain. _"Shani!"_ Orga screamed.

Clotho suddenly let out a series of pained, crazed laughs. _"We're dead...Ha ha ha ha...We're all dead...Ha ha ha ha ha ha...But I'm...gonna take you bastards with us!"_

Clotho fired off his spherical breaker, which went so wide that it completely missed all four of them without any of them trying to dodge. Clotho started to swing his hammer wildly, trying to hit them. But they easily avoid his pathetic swings. "Damn you!" Clotho screamed before he triggered the self-destruct of his machine to escape capture.

_"Clotho...You bastards killed him...Killed them both...I'll...destroy you..."_Orga said, firing all of the Calamity's guns.

Like Clotho, his aim was terrible. The only difference was, where Clotho had attacked with a single heavy ball on a cable, Orga was firing wildly and repeatedly. Still, Nicol, Yzak, Dearka and Saul, evaded the barrage. _"Damn."_ Dearka swore. _"This guy just isn't giving up."_

_"This is why we should have left them."_ Yzak said, blocking a beam with the Duel's shield, destroying it in the process.

"That wasn't the right thing to do. And you know that Yzak." Nicol said.

At that moment, Orga fired off a few more shots, completely draining the Calamity's battery. With the loss of his mobile suit's power, Orga shuttered and passed out.

_"I think they're done."_ Saul said, approaching the Forbidden.

It didn't react in the slightest to his presence. He reached out and grabbed it. Again, there was no reaction. _"Well, I got this one."_ he said.

"I'll get this one." Nicol said as the Neo Blitz grabbed the Calamity. "Well, are you guys gonna help or not?"

_"Fine."_ Dearka said with a sigh.

Yzak shook his head. _"This is stupid. They'll just shoot us in the back when we aren't looking."_

The Duel and the Buster grabbed the Calamity and Forbidden as well. They headed for the _Archangel _with their disabled enemies in tow. "_Archangel._ This is Nicol. We're coming back with the Duel and two of those new Earth Forces' machines. We're gonna need a doctor and some stretchers in the hanger when we get there."

* * *

Martin roared as he fired all of the Massacre's Gatling guns and its missiles on the Farsight and the Panther. The two mobile suits nimbly dodged the incoming fire. "This pilot's more beast than man." Diana said, firing on the Massacre.

_"I know. All four are like this."_ John said. _"All they care about is killing."_

"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!" Martin cheered as he continued to fire blindly at the mobile suits.

Pain shot through his body as the drugs began to burn themselves out of his system. But it did nothing to stop Martin. They had to die! Every last enemy had to be destroyed!

Suddenly, his chest guns ran out of ammo as did his missile pods. His beam Gatling guns fired off a few more shots before they ran out of power. "NO! FIRE! DAMN YOU! FIRE!" Martin shouted in frustration.

_"He's out! Let's move in and finish him off!"_ John ordered.

"Yes sir." Diana said.

"DAMN YOU! DIE!" Martin shouted, discarding his Gatling guns for his sabers.

John drew his own beam saber as Diana drew her sword. Kevin swung his sabers down on the two approaching mobile suits. John and Diana raised their blades, blocking his. "It takes more than brute strength to beat us." Diana said.

"DIE! DIE! DIE! RAAAAAAAAAGH!" Martin screamed.

_"Let us show you how a true warrior fights!"_ John roared.

The Farsight and the Panther pushed the Massacre back and before Martin could react, their swords sliced through the Massacre's body. Diana slashed high, cutting a big gash in the Massacre's upper body. John struck low, removing the legs.

Martin roared, swinging his sabers wildly. Both pilots easily dodged his swings. But the swings were too wild and frantic to get close to the mobile suit again. _"He just doesn't give up."_ John said, shaking his head.

"As I said, he's more beast than man. And the most dangerous beast is a cornered beast." Diana said.

John grabbed a floating Canus missile launcher, still being held by a severed GINN arm. _"Indeed. A wounded, cornered beast will never stop until you or it is dead."_ he said, taking aim.

Martin cried like a child. He was scared now. Then, he passed out. _"He stopped."_ John noted as the Massacre floated there limply.

"It appears that he still is human after all." Diana mused.

_"Help me get him back to the _Archangel_."_ John ordered.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

_The Eternal_

"It may have phase shift armor, but it's not invincible." Andy said. "Fire!"

The guns of the _Eternal_, the _Kusanagi_, the _Odin_, the _Orleans_, and the _Valkyrie_ fired. All of the beams impacted the side of GENESIS. But it had no effect on its armor.

"Damn." Andy swore. "This thing is nothing but trouble."

Athrun detached his METEOR. _"We'll force our way into Jachin Due and destroy the controls."_ Athrun said as he, Heero and Cagalli raced for Jachin Due itself. _"It may be the only way to stop them."_

_"Kano, Kikuchi, provide cover for them!"_ Kisaka ordered.

_"Sir."_

_"Hilda! Take your team and back them up!"_ Lisa added.

_"Roger."_

Two Astrays and three GuAIZs quickly moved alongside the Justice, Wing Zero, and the Strike Rouge, heading Jachin Due.

"Commander! Incoming mobile suit!" Martin shouted.

"It's a shame, really. I did enjoy your songs." Rau said, approaching the _Eternal_. "But the real world isn't as kind as the one in pop songs!"

His DRAGOON pods deployed, firing upon the Clyne Faction forces. The beams hit the _Eternal_, damaging the pink warship as other beams tore through several Astrays and GuAIZs.

Suddenly, Rau felt that presence again. Kira roared, firing his beam rifle on the Providence, forcing Rau to stop his attack on the _Eternal_ and focus the Freedom.

"It's all your fault!" Kira yelled, still firing on the Providence. "You're the one to blame!"

Rau fired the Providence's guns at the Freedom as his DRAGOON fired. But Kira managed to barely dodge the beams and shot down two of the pods due to firing in their flight path, recalling what Heero had taught him during the previous break in battles.

_"Shout all you want, but it's too late now!"_ Rau shouted, lunging at the Freedom, his saber drawn.

Kira drew his own beam saber and the two blades clashed.

_"This is our destiny! People knew where they were heading when they choose to walk this path!"_

"Shut up!"

_"Justice and faith, ignorance and escapism! They never learn! They never listen! We have reached the end of that path. There's no way to prevent it now!" _The two mobile suits broke off. _"Mankind vanquished, at last! Just as they deserve!"_

All of Rau's remaining DRAGOONs fired at the Freedom.

Kira evaded the beams, heading for the Providence. "I won't allow it!" he shouted as he fired at Rau, shield held in front of his cockpit. "You're crazy, and so is your logic!"

Countless beams rained down upon the Freedom. Kira managed to dodge most while the shield took the remaining ones, but a beam tore through the Freedom's right leg. _"That's how people think! You know it!"_ Rau shouted.

Kira fired, destroying a DRAGOON pod. "You're wrong. People aren't like that at all!"

Rau fired his rifle, hitting Kira's shield, knocking it off the Freedom's arm. _"Ha! How are they not like that? What's your proof? This is a world where people's hearts are filled with hatred, where fingers have no purpose other than to pull triggers! What do you believe in, and why do you?"_

"You don't understand anything else!" yelled Kira as he drew saber again, swinging it down on the Providence.

Rau ignited his saber and the two clashed once more. _"Of course! After all, people can only understand what they've experienced! Why torment yourself saying 'eventually someday'? How long have you been fighting with your mind clouded by that brand of sweet poison?"_

* * *

_Jachin Due Control Room_

Hong Fa Wu scowled at the Clyne Faction's feeble attempts to destroy GENESIS. "Those ships are being run by a little girl and a bunch of Naturals and traitors! Why haven't we destroyed them yet?" he demanded.

No one answered him. Much of the operators and officers in the room were becoming less than willing to follow his orders. What was the point of firing GENESIS again? The surviving Alliance forces wouldn't be enough to destroy Jachin Due's forces. They had won. So why fire it again?

Wu gritted his teeth at the silence. "Input the target! East coast of North America! NASA Capital, Washington D.C.!"

"But Chairman, we've already won the battle!" Commander Yuri exclaimed, trying to stop him. "If we fire that, we'll wipe out all life on Earth! There's no reason for that!"

Wu drew his pistol, spun around and fired. It was shocking to everyone. "They're right there! Our enemies are still out there! Why would even suggest that we not fire it?" Wu ranted as everyone stared at him.

Seeing that no one else was going to do it, Wu pushed one of the operators from his console and started typing away. "We've got to fire it again! Before they can retaliate! The enemy must be annihilated! Why don't you all understand that?"

"Your Excellency! Our forces are still in the line of fire!" an officer said.

"They're soldiers of ZAFT! They're prepared to lay down their lives for ZAFT!" Wu screamed.

"You...bastard..." Yuri weakly yelled, firing his own pistol at Wu.

He fired three times. Each bullet hit Wu's chest. Wu let out a liquid gurgle as his body floated backwards. Yuri let out one last gasp of breath before he died. By now, confusion and horror filled the ranks of the ZAFT personnel. Many began to abandon their positions.

At that moment, Athrun, Cagalli and their comrades entered the command center. The sight of a group of armed soldiers broke the courage and morale of the remaining ZAFT officers. Everyone fled, leaving only those seven pilots and the dying Hong Fa Wu.

A horrified Athrun rushed to his father's friend's side. He may not have been a doctor, but Athrun knew his father's comrade was dying. And there was nothing, he or anyone else could do. Wu grasped his friend's son's shoulder. "Fire...GENESIS...We must...make the...world...ours..."

Wu cough up some blood and life left his eyes.

Shock began to fill Athrun's eyes. "NO!"

But he didn't have time to mourn, as if he could. At that moment, a timer appeared on all of the consoles in the command center. Someone had set off Jachin Due's self-destruct. Athrun rushed over to the controls. He had to make sure that GENESIS was deactivated. He started to type away until he saw it. "No... They've activated the self-destruct sequence and set it so when that happens, GENESIS will fire!"

Athrun frantically tried to stop it. But he couldn't. Not in time to stop it anyway. He slammed his fist into the console. "I can't stop it from here."

Then an idea occurred to him. It was crazy. But it was possibly the only way they could stop it.

* * *

_ZAFT Military Headquarters_

Ezalia Joule, as well as everyone else in the command center, was stunned by what was happening. The forces around Jachin Due were in disarray. And the fortress itself was being evacuated. Added to this, they had lost contact with the Chairman.

Suddenly, the command center's main doors opened. A group of ZAFT soldiers entered the room, their rifles leveled at the group. Ian Kessel and Eileen Canaver entered the room. "Hello Ezalia. We're here to take back control." Ian said.

* * *

A DRAGOON pod fired at the Freedom. But Kira dodged the beam and fired at it while spinning around 360 degrees, destroying the pod.

_"Heh heh heh heh ha ha ha ha! No matter what happens now, I've won!"_ Rau yelled in triumph. _"When Jachin Due self-destructs, GENESIS will fire! There's no way the process can be stopped. Earth will burn, and the ensuing cries of the victims will trigger battle anew! This will be a day of reckoning for everyone! This is their destiny. They led us to the inevitable end. You even helped bring this about, boy!"_

Rau fired his rifle at Kira as his remaining DRAGOONs fired. Kira avoided some, but several beams hit. A chuck of his right shoulder and the tips of several of his left wings, were blown off. But Kira fired back, severing the Providence's left arm. But Rau managed to fire back and destroy the Freedom's beam rifle and right arm. Kira quickly combined his beam saber with the other beam saber, creating a single, twin-bladed weapon.

* * *

_Outside GENESIS_

The Justice raced through the interior of GENESIS, the Strike Rouge right behind him. "What are you planning to do Athrun?" Cagalli asked.

_"I'm going to flying into GENESIS's core and activate the Justice's self-destruct."_ Athrun explained. _"The explosion of its nuclear reactor will destroy GENESIS. Cagalli...Get out of here."_

"But if you do that, you'll-"

_"It's our only option! Get out of here!"_

Athrun had to end this madness. His father's friend created this monstrous weapon. He would be the one to destroy. And if he had to die to destroy it, so be it. He would erase his father's comrade's sins.

"Athrun!" Cagalli pleaded.

_"Don't follow me."_ Athrun said, releasing the Justice's flightpack.

It slammed into the Strike Rouge, stopping it as the Justice sped forward. It wasn't long before he reached the core. He stopped and opened the self-destruct panel. Athrun started entering the code, when...

"ATHRUN!" Cagalli shouted, approaching the Justice.

_"Cagalli?"_

"Wait! Stop running!" she pleaded as her eyes watered. "The hardest battle is to keep on living!"

_"Athrun, get out of there. I have a better idea." _Heero said as Athrun looked at Heero's image on the screen.

_"What?"_

_"I will destroy the colony. You saw the power of the Buster Rifle at full. I will do it again."_ Heero explained.

"Okay…"

With that said, Athrun fled GENESIS with Cagalli.

* * *

_"Do you think you can stop what's going to happen? Nobody can do anything about it! The whirlpool of hatred is engulfing the universe!"_ Rau shouted.

"It world is still worth protecting!" Kira roared, charging at the Providence.

Rau fired at the Freedom, but every one of his shots missed. Kira swung his sabers, slicing off the Providence's right arm. Rau backed away, firing the few DRAGOONs he had left at the Freedom. He blew off the Freedom's head and some pieces of it. But Rau couldn't stop him because he was using the momentum of the explosions to move forward at a greater speed. Kira thrust his saber forward, impaling the Providence.

* * *

The self-destruct timer reached zero. Explosions tore through Jachin Due as GENESIS's firing sequence started. Kira jumped away from the Providence, desperately trying to escape the firing zone. The massive beam shot out at the lone mobile suit, obliterating it.

Heero, who was outside the GENESIS, aimed the Buster Rifle at the massive cannon. He had not used the Buster Rifle at full power recently, so he had a charge that was enough to destroy the colony.

He waited for a slight moment before pulling the trigger. The massive golden beam lanced out and sped straight into the center of the cannon.

All onboard the ships of Clyne Faction, people watched as GENESIS exploded. They had stopped the insane genocidal attacks on both Earth and the PLANTs. But it was a bittersweet victory. Nisha Itsuno. Mu La Flaga. Natarle Badgiruel. Tolle Koenig. And so many more lives had been claimed by this war.

Suddenly, a voice came over the comm. _"This acting ZAFT Supreme Council Chairman Eileen Canaver. At the moment, ZAFT is calling for a ceasefire with Earth Alliance Military. Once the ceasefire has been accepted, we ask for the halt of all military operations between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance, so peace talks can begin."_

"It's finally over." Samuel Dante said, raising from his chair in the CIC. "The world is moving towards peace once again."

"Hey. What do you think will happen to us now?" Nicol asked. "I mean, didn't we technically betray ZAFT by fighting alongside the _Archangel_?"

"Probably. But I don't really care." Saul said. "I'm through with the military. With this war over, I'm gonna get my discharge."

"Figures a lazy ass like you would say that." Yzak said.

Saul shrugged. "I'm tired of war. We're not all like you, Scarface."

"Hey!"

"I'd rather just find a quiet place and live out my life away from war." Saul said.

"Same here." Nicol said, staring out into space. "Same here."

Flay stared out into space, Chris's dog tag in her hands.

"I figured he gave one to you." Samuel said, approaching the girl. "My dog tags have always protected the one who holds them, no matter how impossible the situation."

Flay looked down at the dog tag. Chris had told her that they were lucky and would protect her. But it cost him his friend's life. She clenched her fist around the dog tag. "Take it." she said, handing it to him. "If he hadn't given them to me, Nisha wouldn't have died. Chris wouldn't have left me and our child alone. He had one to protect himself as well."

"No." Samuel said, putting his hand on hers, pushing it back to her. "I gave it to Chris to protect him and he gave it to you to protect you. He wanted to protect you. And he still does. Keep it so he can continue to protect you and your child."

"Ma'am, we're receiving word from the 11th Fleet."

"Put them through."

John Alaric's face appeared on the screen. _"It's over...It's finally over."_ he said, breathing a sigh of relief. _"What's your status_ Archangel? _Do you need any assistance?"_

"We're damaged but we're not in any immediate danger." Murrue paused for a moment before saying the next part. "But...But we lost the Strike and the Z.A.M. Gundam."

_"Damn...I'm sorry to hear that."_ John said. _"What about the Freedom, the Justice, Wing Zero and the Strike Rouge?"_

"We lost contact with them."

_"Don't worry. They're out there. Me and my boys will find them."_

* * *

Kira found himself floating in space. Nearby was what remained of the Freedom. He figured had an hour of air left, maybe a little more. But that really didn't matter to him at the moment. He thought about all that had happened since Heliopolis. The battles he fought, the people he had killed... and the friends he had lost.

"Where are we…What will happen now that we've come through to this time in space..." he asked to no one, his tears floating before his face.

Suddenly, he saw something he never expected to see. Birdy was flying towards him and behind it, a light. The light grew as it drew closer.

It was the Strike Rouge and Justice. Their cockpits were open and inside sat Cagalli and Athrun. Both were smiling with tears of joy in their eyes and floating around their faces.

Kira couldn't help but smile. "It's our world."

Cagalli and Athrun jumped out of the Strike Rouge and Justice, heading for him. The three of them embraced in big hug, still weeping tears of joy.

* * *

_Washington D.C._

Vice-President Young and President Hilson walked out of the bunker as the door slid open for the first time in a while. The explosion of the massive cannon had been seen by New Juneau, and that had led to the bunkers being opened up once more.

She could hardly believe how close the human race had come to being wiped out, both Natural _and_ Coordinator alike. But they could breathe a sigh of relief now.

"So, it's finally over…" the president murmured.

"Indeed it is…" Agent Williams replied. "Indeed it is…"

Vice-President Young nodded as well.

The three of them stood there as the sun rose in the distance, the rays of light hitting the Washington Monument. The light illuminated the towering monument, giving it a look that was reminiscent of a tribute to a new era.

It was a peaceful sight to behold indeed…

* * *

_NASA missile silos_

The techs at the missile silos emerged as well, the sun giving way to a new era. It seemed as though they were emerging into a new time, but it was really only a few days since the cannon had first been seen.

A new future awaited both the Natural and Coordinator citizens of NASA. That they could not deny. But they needed to be sure that the rest of the world was ready to face the new era as well.

And that would be hard to do…

* * *

_Dominion_

Ensign Liam looked on as the cannon blew up. She smiled to herself, knowing all too well who was responsible for that. "Way to go Heero Yuy…Berserker of JOSH-A…" she murmured, tears running down her face.

It was all too much for her as she began to cry at last. The victory was finally achieved, but at a cost. Lives had been lost.

Looking back at the body of Natarle Badgiruel, the ensign could only wonder if she had seen the last sunrise before she passed on. The other woman had given her life to ensure that others could escape, something that not many Earth Alliance officers would do.

She made a mental note to ask the president to have the former captain buried in NASA with full military honors. It was what she deserved after all.

The radio crackled to life, making Ensign Liam look over. _"…there…y…one there…is anyone there?"_

Grabbing the mike, she replied instantly. "This is Ensign Dana Liam of the United States Army! Is this a New Juneau ship? Please respond!"

_"Ensign Liam, this is the _Ford_. We read you loud and clear. Prepare for rescue."_ The man replied.

Tears flew freely from the ensign's face as she saw the rescue ship approaching her.

The mission was over, and it was a success…

* * *

_New Juneau_

The NAZAFT commander looked on as the GENESIS cannon exploded. A sigh of relief escaped her as she fell back into her seat. It was finally over, and victory was theirs. NASA had survived the wrath of Wu at last…

It was a sight to behold, seeing Omega One firing its rifle at full power, destroying the GENESIS in one shot. The explosion was a sign that it was over at last.

She knew that, down on the ground, people were most likely celebrating the end of the war, the war that almost doomed all of humanity. It seemed fitting, to be able to celebrate being alive still.

The NAZAFT commander too felt like celebrating such an occasion. But there was still work to be done, and she knew it…

* * *

_Eternal_

Patrick Zala looked on as the cannon exploded, signaling an end to his time as a member of the radical faction. How he had hated that job, being a mole for the Clyne Faction. Still, his job was over, and he could finally go back to being there for his son.

Tears floated away from his face as he recalled Siegel's death. His old friend was killed, and in cold blood by Wu no less. Patrick had wanted to have Siegel see the end of the war, and yet he had not even lived to see his friend escape the radical faction. It was ironic. He was the one who lived, while Siegel did not.

The former Defense Chairman looked back at the remains of the GENESIS. It was over, but at a price. Many lives, both military and civilian had been lost, all for a cause that was doomed from the very start.

Zala closed his eyes. _'Are you happy Siegel? Are you happy that the war has finally ended?'_

His old friend was no doubt smiling at the achievement that he had accomplished. Defeating the radical faction had been the ultimate goal, and now it had been achieved.

* * *

_Kusanagi_

Uzumi Nara Attha felt tears slip down his face as he observed the destruction of the GENESIS cannon. How many lives had been lost to make it as far as they had? He did not know. His friend, Hali, had allowed him to live, even though he had meant to die with the other members of ORB's council.

He cried over his friend's sacrifice. The thought of Hali standing there while he escaped made him sad, and brought forth memories he would rather forget at the moment.

The Lion of ORB could only recall his old mentor and friend drugging him so that he would not resist being loaded onto the ship he was now on. Then, nothing until only a few hours ago.

Lives lost always happened to be the price for victory. That much he knew as a leader, and as a former soldier. But never like this…

* * *

_Archangel_

Aki' drifted into the _Archangel_'s crew quarters, his eye now bandaged. He looked around at everyone gathered there. Chris was crying, as was Kira and Flay, but none more than Liz. She looked in his direction, only to run into him, her arms wrapping around his body.

The NAZAFT pilot was stunned for a moment before he too started crying. Both Coordinators hugged one another, tears streaming down their faces. Aki's good eye had tears running down from it as he cried. Liz was openly crying over the loss of her boyfriend.

Mir was there as well, also crying over the loss of another good friend. Sai also cried over the loss of Nisha. Heero, while not showing it, also mourned the loss of a comrade.

His blue eyes were hidden by his brown bangs, but no one even noticed. It was hard on all of them. Beside the group was Nisha's bunk. The bed had his uniform on it, laid out in a respective manner that reflected his memory.

There was also a photo of Nisha on it, smiling as he looked at the camera. Nisha's father was the most upset though, as he hugged the uniform tightly. Tears ran down his face as well. Taikyu was the most hurt by what happened, as Nisha had been his only son.

Outside the ship, a lone green ZAFT helmet drifted by, a small droplet floating off of it before freezing into ice.

* * *

The battle has ended, but now the world looks on at an uncertain future. What awaits now? Read on to find out! :3 Flames, AKA, hate filled/spamming reviews, **_will_** be deleted **_AND/OR_** reported depending on if they are signed or not. Anyway, read and review! ^^


	39. Phase 38: Between the Stars

**I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. Nor do I own Martin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, Marie Hilson, Dana Liam, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.**

**CT7567Rules: Sorry, that isn't happening in this chapter. And as for Nisha... I have a little surprise in store~ ;3 And yep! :3**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :)**

**A0930: I love your Haro alarm idea! XD But sadly no. But I do have twists planned that you will like, and it involves Marie's past to an extent... ;3**

**Just a Crazy Man: I know you love it. :)**

**KentLinuxStadfelt: Yes, you did mention that. XD**

**nbk - Inconsistent Guest: **PLEASE **use a** CONSISTENT** user name, as in the **same user name as last time!** Geez...**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those with an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you are a guest without an account, **PLEASE** put **THE SAME** guest name over and over again so it is easier for me to respond to you. Thanks!**

* * *

After Phase: Between the Stars

_The Marshall Islands_

_One and a Half Months after the Second Battle of Jachin Due_

Kira sat on the porch of Reverend Malchio's orphanage, staring out at the setting sun. The sounds of children playing filled the air. But another sound began to fill the air. It was the sound of the twin turbine engine of a Heli. Kira looked up. The four-man craft approached the orphanage, landing on the pier.

Kira stood up as Athrun, Chris, and Cagalli climbed out of the aircraft. "Lacus, they're here." Kira called into the orphanage.

"I'll be there in a moment." Lacus replied.

Athrun, Chris and Cagalli reached the porch. Cagalli embraced her brother in a hug. "How have you been Kira?" she asked.

"I'm fine." Kira replied. "How have you three been?"

"Alright. Repairing the damage done to ORB during the war has been long and difficult. But everyone has been working hard to restore ORB to what it was before the war."

"I'm just glad that I can be here to help."

* * *

_Later That Night_

The sounds of talking and eating filled the orphanage as Kira, Lacus, Cagalli, Chris, Athrun, Reverend Malchio and the children began to eat their dinner. While the children were talking about stuff that normal children talk about, the five teens were discussing adult matters. "Still, it really is a hard thing to do. ORB was completely ravaged by the war. That's why we can truly understand the foolishness of war and how precious peace is." Cagalli said as they ate. "But there are countries that don't."

"It's those that believe, 'If you don't trust the other person, don't lower you gun.', isn't it?" Lacus asked.

Cagalli nodded. "Yes." she answered. "I can't help but wonder if the PLANTs are having the same problem."

"All of us must lower our guns or else nothing will ever change." Lacus said.

Cagalli sighed. "Even though we should already understand this... It just seems like there are those that just can't, or won't, understand it."

"How are those three pilots doing?" Lacus asked, seeking to change the subject.

Lacus shown a great deal of concern for the three Alliance pilots that they had captured at Jachin Due. Despite the fact that those three were among the most dangerous opponents that they had ever fought and more than once, they had come close to killing them in battle. Of course, given the current state they were in, it's hard to believe that they were the same dangerous pilots that they had fought at ORB, Mendel and Jachin Due. They could barely move their own bodies in the state were currently in, much less pilot a mobile suit with the skill of an ace.

"Those three? Well, the doctors say that they will pull through. But it will still be weeks before they'll able to move on their own, much less care for themselves." Cagalli replied. "Whatever the Alliance did to them, it was pretty severe. But when they do recover, just what will we do with them? I mean, we can't just give them back Alliance, can we?"

"Of course not." Lacus said. "They're as much a victim as anyone else during the war. And sending then back to those that did that to them, will only make things worse for them."

Athrun nodded. "Yes. It's likely that those in the Alliance military that ordered that done to them, will only subject them to more experiments or dispose of them to prevent their existence from becoming public." he said. "But even then, those three are wild and violent. And their bodies and minds have been heavily altered. They may not be able to do anything but fight."

"It just isn't normal for anyone to act like that." Chris replied.

Lacus shook her head. "I don't believe that. They were normal people once before. They can be again."

"But we don't even know who they were." Athrun argued. "They could have been violent criminals before they were experimented on."

"If they are, then we will face that when and if we reach that bridge. Until then, we should make every effort to help them."

Athrun let out a tired sighed as he scratched his head. "Alright. Alright." he said, defeated.

* * *

_Later_

After dinner, Kira had walked out onto the beach, as Lacus, Cagalli and the children cleared the tables, watching debris enter the atmosphere and burn up, leaving trails of light in the night sky.

Even though it had been weeks since Jachin Due, his mind still went back there, to Rau's insane words, and to Nisha's death. Both haunted him. Rau's words seemed to tear at what he believed in and expose the dark side of humanity, while Nisha's death brought him only sorrow and guilt. Countless times since the battle, he couldn't help but wonder if he could have done things differently, if he could have done something that would have spared Nisha his fate.

Athrun walked up to him, pulling him from his train of thoughts. "It's strange, isn't it?" Kira asked. "I can't help but wonder…Why am I still alive? What makes me so special? Why do I still get to be with my loved ones while others can't? Why do I get to be with Lacus and Chris with Flay while Liz and Aki' will never see Nisha again?"

Memories of Nisha pushing him out of the path of the beams and the Z.A.M. Gundam exploding filled his mind.

"We're all thinking that too, Kira." Athrun said. "I can't answer why we survived while others didn't. Maybe we survived to make sure that such tragedies won't happen again."

Elsewhere, Lacus, Chris, and Cagalli stood on the porch, watching Kira and Athrun talk. "You know, I was amazed that you actually went onto the battlefield." Cagalli told the pink haired girl.

"Really?"

"Yeah. But being out there, seemed to suit you."

"I would have to agree." Chris added.

Lacus smiled. "Is that so?" she asked. "I was just trying to bring an end to the fighting the best way I could."

"Even then, you didn't have to go out on to the battlefield."

"How could I not, with Kira, Athrun, Chris, you and everyone else, out there risking their lives to bring peace? I sought to bring about peace, just like the rest of you. So why should I be the one to sat and watch from a safe distance?"

Cagalli nodded. "I see your point. Perhaps one day, no one will ever have to set foot on a battlefield."

"I hope so too." Chris replied, his hand going to his dog tag.

* * *

Flay leaned on the railing of a balcony in her family's mansion in Orb. By pure chance, it had escaped the invasion of ORB with little damage, unlike many other houses on Onogoro. Flay was wearing a simple blue dress that did little to hide the signs of her pregnancy and around her neck hung Chris's dog tag.

She had lost much in war: her home on Heliopolis, and her father. But there were two things and only thing she had gained from the war: Her child, _Chris's_ child, and Chris himself, who was off visiting Kira and Lacus.

Flay hadn't had any DNA test done to confirm who her child's father was, but she knew it was Chris's. Something deep within her, told her so.

"The tea's ready." Murrue called out from inside the mansion.

Flay turned around and entered the house. After she had returned to her family's mansion, she had offered it to any of the _Archangel_'s crew that needed a place to stay. It was too large for her to live in by herself. Murrue, John and Andy had taken her up on that offer.

Flay sat down on chair as Murrue entered the living room with a tray. The older woman set the tray on the coffee table and sat down on the love seat across from her. Murrue poured them both a cup of tea. They silently drank their tea. They were both still grieving for the losses of the men they loved.

"This is good." Flay said, breaking the silence.

"Thank you." Murrue said before pausing to think of something to say to keep the silence from returning. "Ah...I have you chosen a name yet?"

Flay gently stroked the bulge on her abdomen. "No. Not yet. I honestly don't know where to begin with picking names. Course, I don't even don't even know if it's a boy or a girl."

"Well, you're better off picking on your own." Murrue said. "I had a friend from before the war, who was pregnant and asked her friends and family for advice. It was a big mistake. Everyone was bugging her with suggestions on her child's name for a week before she became fed up and told them all to shut up."

Both women laughed. Flay smiled. "I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

Yzak, followed by Dearka and Shiho, entered the ZAFT Government building. Through his face didn't show it, Yzak was nervous. Though he had fought plenty of battles, but the field of politics was something completely different. Something he wasn't sure that he was ready for.

"Ah! You're here Mr Joule." the newly elected National Defense Committee Chairman, Ian Kessel, called out as he approached the trio. "I was starting to wonder if you had gotten cold feet."

Yzak and Ian shook hands. "No sir. I'm sorry for being late." Yzak replied. "Ah...Sir, I was wondering, why was I asked to fill my mother's position on the Council? Surely there are more experienced people that can fill her role than me."

"True. But you have something they don't have. You fought in this war. And while it was caused by politicians, it was the younger generation that fought and died in the war. It is only fair that they have a voice during the peace talks. That's why I asked for you to fill your mother's position temporarily."

Ian patted Yzak on back. "Well Mr Joule, you're about to enter a battlefield more perilous and treacherous than any you've experienced before. Politics." Ian said, leading him to the Council chambers. "A word of advice, don't trust anyone in the field of politics, because while we may be your friend one day, the next day, we could very likely stab you in back. So stay on your guard at all times."

* * *

John Alaric, Elizabeth and Johanna Dante entered a Morgenroete hanger. As soon as he entered, John's eyes were drawn to a large object sitting in the middle of the hanger. "So this is the project we're working on. For a while there, I thought we'd be working on that new Murasame Project." he said, sipping a cup of coffee.

Johanna nodded as they walked forward. "Nope. We're working on this. It's a special request. Not a regular project for ORB."

"That doesn't surprise me. So is this a rebuild or a complete redesign?"

"Well...We could rebuild it." Liz said. "But it doesn't seem quite to just rebuild it."

"Indeed it doesn't." Samuel said as he and Andy entered the hanger.

Andy whistled. "Well now. I didn't think I'd be seeing this guy again."

"Yeah. The body was destroyed, but the head managed to survive. We've been asked to restore the head and have it placed on a mobile suit. We're trying to decide if we should rebuild as it was before, or create a new mobile suit for it." Johanna explained as the group gathered around the damaged head of the NAS-X117-A Z.A.M. Gundam.

Samuel placed his hand on the Z.A.M. Gundam's faceplate. "It doesn't matter either. The Z.A.M. Gundam will fly again." he said. "We'll see to that."

* * *

Aki' stood in his new room in New Juneau. His eye was now healed, but he would have a lasting scar there. His gaze drifted over to the picture of his cousin Nisha. The frame was sitting on the desk, the photo smiling back at him. Nisha's father had recently moved to New Juneau to escape the pain of his loss, but even then it was still there.

The blue coat sighed. The wound was still raw, but it would heal, just like everything else did with time. He looked over at where his things had been placed.

Time to unpack…

* * *

President Hilson looked over the stack of papers that awaited her. She groaned. Even after that mission was a success, she _still_ had to deal with the bane of her existence. Paperwork.

* * *

A form was lying on a table with an oxygen mask over its mouth. Bandages covered the majority of the form's body, except for the blood-matted light blue hair and one brown eye.

"So, this is the one recovered from that machine eh? Well, he'll certainly be useful, although he would do better as an EA officer rather than an Extended. We will have to dye that hair a different color too, so he does not stick out as much." A doctor sneered as he looked away.

* * *

Defense Secretary Keller looked over the missile installment progress, and saw that the project was close to completion.

_'Good. Very good. Soon, we will have our power back, and no one will dare to threaten us or the PLANTs ever again.'_

* * *

The battles are over, and people try to move on with their lives. Now the divisions formed have to be healed, but it will not be so easy. What new alliances will form from this new future, and what new enemies and divisions will form? Time is moving again, but is it in a better direction, or is it just delaying the inevitable? How will the world heal from this? What awaits now? Read on to find out! :3 Flames, AKA, hate filled/spamming reviews, **_will_** be deleted **_AND/OR_** reported depending on if they are signed or not. Anyway, read and review! ^^


	40. GS Mobile Suits

**New story is up! Here is the sequel to Gundam SEED: Divisions. There are some new units here, as well as some that were seen in the last war. I hope you will all enjoy it! Note: I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Ian, Saul, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, Treize Zabiarov, Gyunei Ridden, Reccoa Schnieder, or the machines listed for the remaining members of the Le Creuset team, as they are Akatsuki_Leader13's and are used with his permission as such. I also do not own Xander Alexis, as he belongs to Mordalfus Grae. Nor do I own Matrin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Tao White, Akira, Nishikama, Nisha and Taikyu Itsuno, Preisdent Marie Hilson, Gai Tatsuni, NASA/NAZAFT, the Presidential Murasame, the Raptor, the Dax, Wing, Traverse, and Z.A.M. Gundams, and the colony of New Juneau.**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :)**

**CT7567Rules: All will be revealed in time. And Chris is still alive, don't worry. :3**

**BnK - Inconsistent Guest: You obviously won't stick with a single guest name, so I will just call you '**inconsistent guest'** from now on.**

**Just a Crazy Man: Next arc begins now. :3**

**A0930: Trust me, Heero will get an upgraded suit down the road. As for the helmet, it was just a ZAFT space helmet, sorry. ^^'**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in and leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in and leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, then feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

* * *

Gundam SEED Destiny: Divisions Mobile Suits

Mobile Suit Serial Number: NAS-X111-A Raptor

Unit Type: Mass-Produced Transformable Aerial Combat Mobile Suit

Power-plant: Ultra-compact nuclear fusion reactor

Special Equipment: Stealth-based armor

Armament: x6 AMS 14mm CIWS guns-2 on head, two on wings, two on cockpit nose-, x2 beam sabers, missile attachment holders, beam rifle type 25 "Musket" beam rifle.

Pilots: NASA Air Force pilots and officers, NASA Navy pilots and officers, Derek Lockheed.

Appearance: Same as an F-22 Raptor in flight mode, similar to Murasame design in mobile suit form.

Colors: Grey

Info: In the months following the Bloody Valentine War, NASA realized that they needed an aerial machine to attack from above in order to be more successful in defense of their home. Research led to the findings of the F-22 Raptor, which was redeveloped into the Raptor MS.

Author's Notes: I wanted NASA to have some new machines, so I asked my sister what ideas she had and she came up with the Raptor, which I then decided to use.

Mobile Suit Serial Number: NAS-X112-A Dax

Unit Type: Mass-Produced Transformable Underwater Combat Mobile Suit

Power-plant: 2 Ultra-Compact Battery Units

Special Equipment: Underwater propulsion engines

Armament: x4 Torpedo tubes, x2 AMS 14mm CIWS guns-2 on head

Pilots: NASA Navy officers

Appearance: A small 1-person submarine in underwater form, similar to the Diver with a GM head in MS form.

Colors: Blue-grey, grey, and black

Info: In response to the invasion that was launched by the Earth Alliance, NASA realized that they needed an underwater MS to take down ships that were part of an invasion force. When Tao White defected to NAZAFT, NASA got their answer. After studying the data of the Diver, they developed the Dax, which is lightly armed, but those weapons count when taking on ships of the EA.

Author's Notes: I developed the Dax when I needed another machine to help defend NASA waters since the invasion failure. The Dax and the Raptor were also developed in order to keep ahead of ZAFT in the arms race, thanks to their new machines.

_"No one will get away with the acts that were carried out in the previous war again!"_ President Marie Hilson.

Mobile Suit Serial Number: MVF-M11C Murasame Presidential model

Unit Type: Custom Transformable Mobile Suit

Power-plant: Ultra-compact nuclear fission reactor

Special Equipment: NJC, reinforced cockpit with manual override system that causes the cockpit cover to explode outward.

Armament: x6 M2M5D 12.5mm CIWS guns-2 on head, four on wings, Beam saber, High-energy beam cannon, Beam rifle Type 72 Kai "Ikazuchi" beam rifle, Anti-air missile launcher, Shield.

Pilot: President Marie Hilson

Appearance: Same as a Murasame from ORB, but with red, white and blue coloring.

Color: Parts that are orange on a normal Murasame are blue, with red cockpit cover. Blue chest, with red head crest.

Info: A personal thank-you from Lord Uzumi for saving ORB's refugees in their time of need, the Murasame H is the personal machine of the President of the United States, Marie Hilson. As such, it has many features that most normal machines would not have. The most important is the reinforced cockpit which is similar to the one used in the Presidential GM, but with one major improvement: it has a manual override release system that the President can use to escape even the most life threatening situations. By taking into account the flaw that had killed many presidents in the past, ORB was able to create a system that not only could be opened from the outside, but from the inside as well, thus allowing the president to escape even when the machine was on fire.

Author's Notes: I decided to give the president a new unit that would be more useful than just a Traverse Gundam. Therefore, taking advantage of what I had designed for her, I created the Murasame H, which is a custom-made unit. I already designed the unit, so I thought I would use it now.

_"There will never be peace as long as war is waged!"_ Tao White

Mobile Suit Serial Number: GAT-X308 Diver/GN-003 Diver Abyss

Unit Type: Prototype Transformable Underwater Combat unit/GN Drive powered underwater combat machine.

Power-plant: Ultra-compact battery/GN Drive

Special Equipment: Hydro-propulsion units for underwater combat/Lightwave pulse thrusters.

Weapons: "Firewaves" prototype underwater battle staff, dual underwater "Gunken" missile launchers, dual "Danketsu" underwater Gatling guns

Submarine Weapons: Dual underwater "Gunken" missile launchers, dual "Danketsu" underwater Gatling guns

Pilot: Tao White

Colors: Blue-grey majority, grey and black chest, black feet bottoms.

Info: An underwater Gundam, this unit was the developed to counter ZAFT's underwater units. The Diver can transform into a submarine form for more maneuverability, as it is made for underwater fighting. It can avoid most units due to its blue color scheme, making it hard to spot when in the water. The Diver is one of several units that survived the Bloody Valentine War, thus it is not as up-to-date as some of the newer units are. But thanks to NASA upgrades and tech, the Diver is just as formidable as it was during the last war.

Author's Notes: I decided to keep the Diver around instead of giving Tao a whole brand-new unit so it would be easier to write the story. And as a result of throwing in the Gundam 00 machines, I decided that the Diver would receive the GN Drive of the Kyrios that was recovered later on in the story.

"_I will not allow anyone to suffer the way she did again!"_ Akira Nishikama

Mobile Suit Serial Number: ORB-04-A Wing/GN004 Wing

Unit Type: Prototype High-Maneuverability Transformable Mobile Gundam Unit

Power-plant: 2 ultra-compact battery units/GN Drive

Special Equipment: GN Particle emitters on back

Weapons: Hellfire mini-missiles (dual launchers hidden on back end of vehicle form), x2 "Seikokatsu" beam sabers (on hips), x2 "Taiyou-ko" katana wing-blades (space combat only), 1 dual 74mm hyper velocity beam rifle, 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm anti-air vulcan gun

Alternate mode: Hellfire mini-missiles, "Taiyou-ko" wing-blades (vehicle form), 2x 30mm vulcan guns, one per wing.

Pilot: Akira Nishikama

Appearance: Same as in GS: Divisions

Colors: White majority, with blue and yellow chest, blue feet bottoms, and black top on the wings

Info: Like the Diver, the Wing was one of several machines that survived the First Bloody Valentine War. And thanks to NASA tech and upgrades, the Wing is still a formidable opponent despite being two years older than most current machines…

Author's Notes: I planned to have the Wing survive from the start. Of course, like the Diver, I wanted it to have a GN Drive as well, so what I did was have NASA find the GN Drive that was previously used by the group Fershete and keep it for study.

* * *

"_I won't let you bring down Junius Seven! Such a tragedy must never be unleashed on the world again!" _Flay Alster

Mobile Suit Serial Number: MBF-X135 Strike Raven

Unit Type: general purpose mobile suit

Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery

Special Equipment: Trans Phase Armor, Raven Striker Mk II backpack/subflight lifter, can be separated from main body and used as a subflight system.

Armament: 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS, mounted in head, 1x 57 mm high-energy beam rifle, 2x beam sabers, stored in hips, 1x shield, mounted on left arm

Raven Striker Armaments: 2x 52mm hyper velocity cannon, 2x M2M3 76mm machinegun, mounted on the underside of the wings

Pilot: Flay Allster

Appearance: Its body resembles the Strike with a backpack similar to the Raven's flightpack, save larger. And the railguns, when the pack is raised, sit next to the head like the beam guns on the Fatum-00. Its head is the scared head of the Raven.

Color: Identical color scheme to the Raven. Primarily midnight blue with red trim. White thighs, biceps, and face.

Info: The Strike Raven was designed by Johanna Dante, at the request of Flay Allster, so she could fight alongside Chris Dante, the father of her child. The largest piece of the Raven reused by the Clyne Faction was its head, which was restored and mounted on the Strike Raven. Again, at Flay's personal request. While its body is designed after the Strike, it lacks the hardpoints for Striker packs, instead it's equipped with the Raven Striker Mk II backpack. A subflight unit based off the Raven's wings and the Justice's Fatum-00. When not activated, the wings are folded and the pack rests against its back. When in use, the wings extend and the pack rises up like the Fatum.

Author's Notes: I had the info altered to fit in with my SEED: Divisions universe.

_"Junius Seven will never fall again!"_ Chris Dante

Mobile Suit Serial Number: GN001

Unit Type: Close Quarters unit

Power-plant: GN Drive

Special Equipment: Optical camouflage system.

Armaments: GN Beam Saber, GN Beam Dagger, GN Blades, GN Shield, GN Sword, GN Vulcan

Pilot: Chris Dante

Colors: Default colors

Info: Found by the U.S. forces, the Exia was recovered and repaired before being given to the _Archangel_ Crew and pilot Chris Dante during the First Bloody Valentine War. Chris, after the war ended, hid the Exia away with the Freedom and Dynames to prevent others from finding it.

_"No one should ever suffer the tragedy ever again!"_ Liz Dante.

Mobile Suit Serial Number: GN-002

Unit Type: Long-range sniper

Power-plant: GN Drive

Special Equipment: Optical Camouflage

Armaments: GN Beam Pistol, GN Beam Sabers, GN Missile Launcher, GN Sniper Rifle

Pilot: Liz Dante

Colors: Default Colors

Info: Found by the U.S. forces, the Dynames was recovered and repaired before being given to the _Archangel_ Crew and pilot Liz Dante during the First Bloody Valentine War. Liz, after the war ended, headed to NAZAFT where her skills would be useful, taking the Dynames with her. She has improved in her sniping skills, a huge asset when concerning the Dynames' main weapon.

_"In war, a Gundam means two things to me: Freedom to the oppressed, and death to the oppressors."_ Heero Yuy

Mobile Suit Serial Number: XXXG-00W0-SX

Unit Type: Transformable Mobile Suit

Power-plant: Ultra-compact Fusion Reactor

Special Equipment: ZERO System-version 3.0, DRAGOON bits

Armament: x2 Beam sabers, Twin Buster Rifle, Machine Cannon, Piledriver Shield, Wing Vulcans

Pilot: Heero Yuy

Appearance: Same as Wing Zero, regular form, but with a third engine cover section per wing, with the white cover sections being the DRAGOON bits.

Colors: Default colors

Info: Heero Yuy's machine, Wing Zero wound up in the C.E. Era with its pilot upon escaping the A.C. universe. Wing Zero saw action during the First Bloody Valentine War before vanishing along with Heero Yuy. Wing Zero later appeared during the Second Bloody Valentine War during the Armory One theft. Heero joined ZAFT before choosing to defect back to the side of NASA and ORB. The combat resulting from his defection damaged Wing Zero badly enough to need repairs and an upgrade. Wing Zero then saw action once more all the way to the end of the Second Bloody Valentine War.

Mobile Suit Serial Number: GN-005

Unit Type: Anti-fleet unit

Power-plant: GN Drive

Special Equipment: Burst Mode, Optical Camouflage

Armaments: GN Bazooka, GN Beam Saber, GN Cannon, GN Field

Colors: Default colors

Info: Found by NASA, the Virtue was even worse off than the other two machines recovered by the same alliance. Even after extensive repairs, the machine was still badly damaged. The events of JOSH-A caused the more severe damage, leading to even longer repair times. After repairs were complete, the Virtue was finally given to its intended pilot…

* * *

_"My, what a great day to take out some space monsters."_ Gai Tatsuni

Mobile Suit Serial Number: GAT-X107 Z.A.M. Gundam

Unit Type: Anti-fleet unit

Power-plant: Ultra-compact battery

Special Equipment: Phase Shift Armor

Weapons: "Heaven's Fire" Shoulder Missile Launchers, "Hidden Fury" Leg Missile Launchers, x2 "Variable" beam sabers, "Heat Storm" Chest Missile Launchers, "Heat Tracer" shoulder beam cannons.

Pilot: Gai Tatsuni

Colors: White with black trim. Red trim around cockpit

Info: Z.A.M. means "Zoned Allied Massacre". This Gundam, the successor of the NAS-X117-A, is piloted by Gai Tatsuni. The Earth Forces recovered parts of the Z.A.M. Gundam and rebuilt it for their use.

Author's Notes: I needed a machine for Gai to pilot, and so, drawing on the last time the Z.A.M. Gundam had been seen, I had the EA recover some of its parts and rebuild it for their own use.

Name: Xander Alexis

Age: 21

Genetics: Half Natural/Half Coordinator

Eye Color: Light Red

Hair Color: Grey (Naturally)

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 234 lbs

Faction: Earth Alliance

Nationality: Unknown, possibly NASA or ORB

Likes: A Good Book, Peace and Quiet, Clear Night Skies

Dislikes: Coordinators and the Genetic Superiority Arrogance, ZAFT (Borderline psychopathic hatred), NASA (Utter Hatred)

Appearance: Tall lanky but well-built frame, pale skin and sharp yet boyish features.

Criminal Record: 6 near fatality Hit & Runs (Coordinator), 1 fatal Hit & Run (Coordinator), 2 cases Attempted Murder (Coordinator), 3 cases of suspected attempt to commit murder (Coordinator), 1 case of suspected murder (Coordinator), 16 cases of evading arrest, Currently wanted by the NASA for questioning about the murder of a young Coordinator pilot.

Alignment: Pro-Earth Alliance, Pro-Blue Cosmos

_"Shame we can't stay to crush the Patchworkers' feeble hourglasses as well."_ Xander Alexis

Mobile Suit Serial Number: GAT-X103AP 'Verde Buster'

Unit Type: Prototype artillery mobile suit

Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery

Special Equipment: Variable Phase Shift armor

Armaments: 94mm high-energy beam cannon, mounted on backpack over left shoulder; 350mm gun launcher, mounted on backpack over right shoulder; 2 x 6-tube 220mm multipurpose missile launcher, mounted on shoulders; 2 x M9009B composite bayonette-equipped beam rifle, can be combined into one rifle, hand-carried in use

Pilot: Xander Alexis

Color: Default colors

Info: The successor of the X103 Buster of the Blood Valentine War. This particular unit has been assigned to Xander Alexis.

Author's Notes: Xander Alexis is the OC of Mordalfus Grea, and as such he needed a machine, so I took the Verde Buster of the Librarian Works and gave it to him.

"_How typical of the Coordinators to rely upon their technology and distance from Earth to protect them. How fitting that we should kill them where they feel safest."_ Reccoa Schnyder

Mobile Suit Serial Number: GAT-X1022 'Blu Duel'

Unit Type: Prototype close combat mobile suit

Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery

Special Equipment: Variable Phase Shift armor

Armaments: 2x M2M5 "Todesschrecken" 12.5mm automatic CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 3x Mk315 "Stiletto" rocket-propelled anti-armor penetrator, stored in shoulders, hand-carried in use; 2x M7G2 retractable beam gun, mounted on forearms, hand-carried in use; 2x ES05A beam saber, mounted on legs, hand-carried in use; shield, mounts M443 "Scorpion" mobile railgun, mounted on right arm

Pilot: EX-C0801 Reccoa Schnyder

Color: Default colors

Info: The successor of the X102 Duel of the Blood Valentine War. This particular unit has been assigned to EX-C0801 Reccoa Schnyder.

"_Oops. I broke this one. Ha ha ha ha! Someone bring me another one!"_ Gyunei Ridden

Mobile Suit Serial Number: GAT-X303AA 'Rosso Aegis'

Unit Type: Prototype transformable mobile suit

Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery

Special Equipment: Variable Phase Shift armor

Armaments: 2x M2M5 "Todesschrecken" 12.5mm automatic CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head; 4x beam saber, 1 mounted on each arm and leg; 1x shield; 1x 60mm beam rifle; 1x 'Scylla II' 580mm energy cannon

Pilot: EX-C0311 Gyunei Ridden

Color: Default colors

Info: The successor of the X303 Aegis of the Blood Valentine War. This particular unit has been assigned to EX-C0311 Gyunei Ridden. On a side note, a particualr improvement from its predecessor, the Rosso Aegis is capable of firing it's Scylla II cannon in both modes and the beam possess the same beam bending technology as the GAT-X252 Forbidden.

"_Start another war? Of course we are! We exist only to fight in wars and kill people like you Coordinator! Like all soldiers do! If you're too weak to understand that than you don't belong in that machine!"_ Treize Zabiarov

Mobile Suit Serial Number: ZGMF-X44S 'Specter'

Unit Type: Prototype high mobility mobile suit

Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery

Special Equipment: Variable Phase Shift Armor, Deuterion Beam Energy Supply System, Lightwave Pulse Thrusters, Twin Prototype Vernier Boosters

Armaments: 4x MMI-GAU1717 12.5 mm CIWS, mounted on the head, 2x 'Cerebus' beam revolver with bayonet, stored on hip holders, 1x MMI-558 'Tempest' beam sword, stored on the inside of the shield, 1x MGX-2230 long range multi-phase beam cannon, mounted on right shoulder, 1x shield, mounted on the left arm

Pilot: EX-C1304 Treize Zabiarov

Color: Treize's colors: Black torso, head, shins, forearms. Gray faceplate, biceps, thighs. Red trim and head crest.

Info: The fourth stolen mobile suit from Armory One. Designed as a next generation high mobility mobile suit, it was equipped with the prototype Vernier Boosters. While the massive boosters enable it to achieve speeds unrivaled by normal mobile suits, the boosters can drain the battery if the high speeds are sustained for too long. Also, most pilots cannot handle its maximum speed. To date, only two pilots have been able to successfully control it at its maximum speeds. Its original pilot and the Extended pilot that stole it from Armory One.

Author Notes: I have changed it around so that way Treize is the only pilot of this unit.

* * *

Mobile Suit Serial Number: ZGMF-X1000HMX ZAKU Warrior High Maneuver Type/ZGMF-X1001HMX ZAKU Phantom High Maneuver Type

Unit Type: Customized general purpose/commander type mobile suit

Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery

Special Equipment: High Maneuver Flightpack

Armaments: Varies between pilot

Pilot: The pilots of ZAFT's 11th Fleet

Color: Varies between pilots

Info: Unlike previous mobile suits of the 11th Fleet, this limited production ZAKU variant was created specifically for the 11th Fleet and a handful of veteran aces from the Bloody Valentine. Though, as is their custom, the 11th Fleet has extensively modified and customized their ZAKUs, raising their performance level above the norm. The main feature that sets the HM Type apart from the normal ZAKU, is its inability to mount Wizard Packs and it's flightpack. Granting the HM Type a greater acceleration rate and top speed, and atmospheric flight.

_"Hmph... A new Duel model. Well, get ready punk. Cause I'm the original Duel pilot and there's no way I'm going to lose to you!"_ Yzak Joule

Mobile Suit Serial Number: ZGMF-1001HMX/DC ZAKU Duel

Unit Type: Customized commander type mobile suit

Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery

Special Equipment: High Maneuver Flightpack

Armaments: 2x beam saber, stored on hip armor, 1x MMI-M633 beam assault rifle, 1x MA-MR Falx G7 beam axe, stored on inside of left shield, hand-carried in use, 2x shoulder shield, connected to arms

Pilot: Yzak Joule

Color: Dark blue torso. Light blue arms, legs, head and shields.

Info: Yzak Joule's personal ZAKU Phantom High Maneuver Type. Named after the mobile suit he used during the Bloody Valentine War. This unit has been customized for close quarters combat, sacrificing much of its ranged weaponry for close combat weapons. Including two of its battery clips for its beam rifle, limiting the rifle's operating time. However, in the hands of an ace like Yzak, it is an extremely lethal machine to anyone that gets too close.

"_What the... The Buster?! You got to be kidding me!"_ Dearka Elsman

Mobile Suit Serial Number: ZGMF-X1000HMX/BC ZAKU Buster

Unit Type: Customized general purpose mobile suit

Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery

Special Equipment: High Maneuver Flightpack

Armaments: 1x 350mm gun launcher, mounted behind right arm, can be combined with 94mm high-energy rifle, hand-carried in use, 1x 94mm high-energy rifle, mounted behind left arm, can be combined with 350mm gun launcher, hand-carried in use, 1x MA-M8 beam tomahawk, stored inside shield, hand-carried in use, 4x hand grenade (ZR30F fragmentation grenade, ZR20E high explosive grenade, ZR271 thermite incendiary grenade, ZR11Q flash grenade, ZR13Q smoke grenade), stored on hip armor, 1x shoulder shield, connected to arms

Pilot: Dearka Elsman

Color: Dark green body and shield. Tan arms, legs and head, with orange trim.

Info: Dearka Elsman's personal ZAKU Warrior High Maneuver Type. Like Yzak, who sought instill the spirit of previous machine, Dearka named his ZAKU after the Buster Gundam. But he took it one step further, painting it in the Buster's colors and equipping it with the Buster's signature gun launcher and high-energy rifle.

"_Damn. These guys are persistent. But why are they attacking us?"_ Shiho Hahnenfuss

Mobile Suit Serial Number: ZGMF-X1000HMX/DA ZAKU DEEP Arms

Unit Type: Customized general purpose mobile suit

Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery

Special Equipment: High Maneuver Flightpack

Armaments: 2x JDP9-MSY0300 directed thermal energy cannon, mounted on shoulders; NOL-Y941 heavy laser sword, stored on left hip, hand-carried in use, 1x MMI-M633 beam assault rifle

Pilot: Shiho Hahnenfuss

Color: Entirely dark blue.

Info: Shiho Hahnenfuss's personal ZAKU Warrior High Maneuver Type. Following the trend of many veterans from the last war, Shiho has modeled her ZAKU off of her CGUE DEEP Arms. Removing the ZAKU's grenades and shield for the latest version of the thermal energy cannons that were mounted on the CGUE DEEP Arms and the original sword of her previous unit. Interestingly, she has fitted the underside of her cannons to hold additional battery clips for her rifle.

* * *

SHIP INFO

Ship Name: _Archangel_

Class: _Archangel_-class

Type: Mobile suit carrier/assault ship

Manufacturer: Morgenroete

Allegiance: ORB Union

Length: 345 meters

Accommodation: Bridge, 2 Mobile Suit hangers

Powerplant: x2 nuclear fusion reactors

Engines: 6 large thrusters, 8 smaller thrusters

Armor: Laminated armor

Weapons: 2 x "Lohengrin" Positron Blaster Cannon, 2 x "Gottfried Mk.71" 225cm High-energy Beam Cannon, 2 x "Valiant Mk.8" 110cm Linear Cannon, 24 x Surface-to-ship Missile Launcher, 16 x Surface-to-air Missile Launcher, 16 x "Igelstellung" 75mm Automatic Multi-barrel CIWS, 6 x Anti-Beam Depth Charge

Mobile suit capacity: 16 units

Crew: 130

Info: The White Legend, as the _Archangel_ is known, defected from the EA during the First Bloody Valentine War after the attack on JOSH-A. They brought about an end to the war, but faded into normal civilian life in order to remain hidden from the rest of the EA, mainly the AEU…

Ship Name: _Constitution_

Class: _Liberty_-class

Type: Stealth based mobile suit assault ship

Manufacturer: NAZAFT

Allegiance: United States/NAZAFT

Length: 255 meters

Accommodation: Bridge, 2 Mobile Suit hangers

Powerplant: 2 Nuclear Fusion reactors

Engines: Solid propellant rocket engines

Armor: Gundanium armor, light deflecting armor on top of regular armor.

Weapons: "Penetrator" Rail Cannon, x2 "Freedom's Light" High-energy beam cannons, x2 "Valiant Mk.8" 110cm Linear Cannons, x20 Surface to ship Missile Launcher, x22 Surface to air Missile Launcher, x8 "Igelstellung" 75mm Automatic Multi-barrel CIWS, x3 Aft torpedo tubes, x12 decoy probes

Mobile suit capacity: 6 Mobile Suits

Crew: 70

Info: The _Constitution_, along with its sister ships, the _Orleans_ and the _Andrews_, was taken in by NAZAFT of the United States and given a complete overhaul using ideas taken from the data on the _Archangel_ class ships that was gathered during the war. While smaller in size than the _Archangel_, the _Constitution_ is just as powerful as the White Legend. The ship also has gained a bit of a reputation, becoming known as the 'Phantom Ship' due to NASA testing out a cloaking armor that can reflect, refract, and bend all light waves, making the ship invisible to all known visual sensors.

Chapter is up. Note the little * by some of the machines and characters. That means that those characters and machines belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Just a different way of telling them apart is all. And there is a spoiler concerning Wing Zero. XD!

* * *

Anyway, you all know this, but I will put it anyway. Constructive criticism is appreciated as are reviews. Flames, AKA, hate-filled/spamming reviews, **_WILL_** be reported and/or deleted depending on if they are signed or not.

Anyway, read and review! ^^


	41. Phase 1: Angry Eyes

**New chapter is up is up! Note: I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Ian, Saul, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, Treize Zabiarov, Gyunei Ridden, Reccoa Schnieder, or the machines listed for the remaining members of the Le Creuset team, as they are Akatsuki_Leader13's and are used with his permission as such. I also do not own Xander Alexis, as he belongs to Mordalfus Grae. Nor do I own Matrin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Tao White, Akira, Nishikama, Nisha and Taikyu Itsuno, Preisdent Marie Hilson, Gai Tatsuni, NASA/NAZAFT, the Presidential Murasame, the Raptor, the Dax, Wing, Traverse, and Z.A.M. Gundams, and the colony of New Juneau.**

**KentLinuxStadfelt: Yes, yes, it is.**

**CT7567Rules: I will try to work in the wedding, but we will see.**

**BnK - Inconsistent Guest: You obviously won't stick with a single guest name, so I will just call you '**inconsistent guest'** from now on.**

**Just a Crazy Man: Next arc begins now. :3**

**A0930: Trust me, Heero has his reasons, and no it is not for any reasons that are bad. You will see down the road as the story goes on.**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in and leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in and leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, then feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

_Cosmic Era 72. One and half years of grim war between Earth and PLANTs ended following the space battle at Jachin Due. The two sides forged a peace treaty amid the ruins of Junius Seven, a place of unprecedented tragedy during the war. The former enemies pledged themselves to work for mutual understanding and to make every effort possible to maintain peace. As a result, the world is once more on the path of stability._

* * *

Phase One: Angry Eyes

_A family of four ran through the woods, trying to reach the boats that were evacuating the civilians of ORB. Shinn Asuka looked up at the mobile suits fighting above them. The white one and light blue one were shrugging against the other four. Shinn really wasn't sure which ones were fighting for ORB and which ones were with the Earth Forces._

_Suddenly, the light blue one and the black one, which had transformed into a bird-like mode, raced dangerously close overhead, forcing Shinn and his family to brace themselves as a strong gust of wind slammed into them._

"_My phone!" Mayu cried out as her phone flew out of her pocket and fell down the side of the hit._

_Mayu headed for her cell phone, but their mother grabbed her arm. "Forget about it. We have to go Mayu."_

"_But my phone!"_

"_Don't worry. I'll get it." Shinn said, running down the side of the hill._

_Shinn had found Mayu's phone and picked it up when he heard Mayu scream. He ran up the hill, only for his father to slam into him, tossing him down the rest of the hill. By some small miracle, the only injuries he had sustain were some scrapes and bruises, and having the wind knocked out of him. He slowly got to his feet, still clutching Mayu's cell phone. "Mom! Dad! Where are you? Mayu!" Shinn called out, as started to search for his family. "Mom! Dad! Ma-"_

_He looked over, only to see his father and mother running towards him wih Mayu. Earth Alliance officers were behind them. "Oh no! MAYU!" he cried. Running towards them, Shinn was more than anxious for his family's sake. _

_An Earth Forces soldier fired on his family, hitting his mother in the back. Shinn was staring in shock and horror as she fell, dead from shattered lungs. "No…Mom…Mom! MMMOOOMMM!"_

_His father ran towards Shinn, his sister in their father's grasp. "We're almost there. Just hang on, Mayu!" their father exclaimed._

_"Come on. The boat will be leaving soon." An ORB officer said, half dragging Shinn to the boat._

_As they left for the boat, Shinn looked back. His father ran towards Shinn, his sister in their father's grasp. "We're almost there. Just hang on, Mayu!" their father exclaimed._

_But before the duo could reach the boat, the Earth Forces got them first. Their father was grabbed, unable to fight off the trained soldiers. "MAYU! Just keep going!" he cried, Mayu already heeding his words._

_Shinn reached out just as the boat began to pull away. "Mayu!" he cried. Mayu saw this and ran for her brother. "Shinn!"_

_The two siblings reached out their hands, hoping to make contact. Her hand was so close to Shinn's as the boat began to move faster. The end of the dock was getting closer, but so was Mayu. Then, the Earth Forces shattered the moment. Mayu cried out as she was pulled back from her brother by the enemy._

_"Mayu!" Shinn cried. But it was too late. The boat was out of range and too far from the dock. His sister looked back in his direction, a plea for help visible on her face. "SHINN!"_

_"MMMAAAYYYUUU!"_

Shinn shot up from his bed, breathing heavily. The nightmare had returned again. He hated it. He hated reliving that moment, the moment that his family had been taken from him, because of the stubborn ORB government and the Atthas for not surrendering to the Earth Forces, even though they allowed him and the others to get away to safety, because of the Earth Alliance for attacking his former home.

"Shinn... Shinn, what's wrong?" Shinn's roommate, Rey asked as he yawned.

"Nothing. Just a bad dream. Go back to sleep."

Rey didn't say anything and returned to sleep. Shinn reached out to his dresser, slowly opening a drawer. He reached in and pulled out Mayu's pink cellphone. He held it closely. He would have played Mayu's call back message, but he didn't want to wake Rey. So he just lay there, holding the phone until he fell asleep.

* * *

_Armory One Spaceport_

_October 2, C.E. 73_

Cagalli Yula Attha, Uzumi Nara Attha, Athrun Zala and Flay Allster moved through the corridor from their shuttle, heading into the spaceport terminal. "Are you sure that outfit is appropriate?" Athrun asked. "Tell me you at least brought a dress."

"Why does it matter what I'm wearing?" Cagalli replied, clad in the standard attire of an ORB Government official. "Isn't this fine?"

"For a situation like this, a little bit of acting never hurts." he replied. "You know this. Don't try to be someone you're not. You don't want them to think you're an amateur. Though is an unofficial visit, never forget that you are now a ruler of ORB."

"Lighten up a little." Flay said. "We're just here asking some questions about the ORB refugees from the war and our technology they're using."

"Well, I still rule ORB, so that means that Cagalli is not the ruler just yet." Lord Uzumi reminded Athrun, who just flinched slightly.

Flay paused for a moment. She noticed something unusual. She glanced out the corridor window at the spaceport terminal below. Her eyes were drawn to a group of four. A ditzy-looking blond haired girl, a younger boy with blue hair, and an older green haired male, briefly drew her attention. But it was the fourth that she herself drawn to. He wore a black trench-coat with a high collar, obscuring the lower half of his face. A pair of sunglasses further masked his face. Making it impossible for her to determine what he looked like or how old he was. He had white hair of about medium length. But it was wild, like he cared nothing for his appearance. Something about him unsettled her. He had an aura of violence and something else she could barely pick up. But she couldn't identify it.

The white haired person suddenly glanced around, looking for someone. Had he sensed her? Flay wasn't sure and after a moment, he stopped searching, having not spotted her.

Flay's hand reached up around her neck, grabbing a locket that rested next to a dog tag. It was simple silver locket. Inside it was a picture of her son Alexander, taken shortly after his birth, and a picture of Alexander's father, Chris Dante, who fought during the final battle of the war.

After Alexander had been born, something had changed in Flay, more than just the emergence of her maternal instincts. It was an awareness that she had never had before, the same as Kira's., though nowhere as strong as his.

And Flay had taken the job of one of Cagalli's assistants after Alex had been born. She didn't need the money she was paid. Her family had been wealthy enough that she could have lived out her life comfortably. But the spoiled girl she had been died a long time ago. Now all she cared about was protecting her son. As a result, she learned to fight, to shoot and to pilot a mobile suit.

"Are you alright Flay?" Athrun asked, jarring her from her thoughts.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just lost in thought for a moment there."

They soon reached one of the large lifts that would take them into the heart of the colony. There waiting for them was Ian Kessel, the National Defense Committee Chairman of ZAFT. "Hello. It's been awhile." he greeted.

"Hello National Defense Committee Chairman Kessel." Cagalli replied.

"Please Cagalli, just Ian. How have you all been?"

"I've been good." Lord Uzumi replied.

"Fine." Athrun answered. "How are Saul and the others?"

"Saul's been working as a programmer at one of the PLANTs' largest technology firms, IDB. As for Nicol, he's still performing his concerts and has been something of a celebrity. Though nowhere near as big as Lacus. Yzak's now one of the Commanders of the 11th Fleet. And of course, Dearka's still his right hand man." Ian said, turning to the window of the elevator. "But that's not why you're here, is it?"

Athrun shook his head. "No."

"You're here about the ORB refugees from the war and the tech we've gained from ORB." Ian sighed. "Personally, I don't like this whole affair. It's complicated and there's no clear cut right and wrong here. On the one hand, we're basically stealing ORB tech. But on the other, they're ORB citizens that have chosen to live in the PLANTs and need to earn a living with the skills they have. It's a mess. Worse, the Chairman has handled it poorly." Ian turned to Cagalli. "But maybe you and the Chairman can come to an agreement about this."

"What's your impression of Chairman Durandal?" Cagalli asked.

"He's complicated. But he's a good man, brilliant, driven and passionate." Ian said. "However, the man has a silver tongue. So be careful when dealing with him."

* * *

_A ZAFT Hanger_

Crews were rushing to finish the remaining Second Stage Gundams. While the Impulse had been finished the day before and loaded onto the _Minerva_. The remaining four units were being finished up and prepared to be loaded onto the _Minerva_. If the crews would ever manage to hurry up and finish the suits up.

"Come on! The _Minerva_ is supposed to be launching tomorrow! Let's hurry up and get the Specter and the other machines ready for transport to the Minerva!" Suiren Kyusai shouted.

She put a hand through her blond hair. At the rate they were going, those mobile suits wouldn't be ready until next week. The mobile suit team of the _Minerva_ was supposed to be her first command. And she would not have it ruined because the crews couldn't get their asses in gear and get these machines ready for transport.

She turned to her own machine, the ZGMF-X44S Specter. It was a beauty. She knew everyone was going on about the Impulse as the top of the line mobile suit of the new series. But personally she preferred her Specter.

One of the technicians approached her with a handheld computer. "We've finished updating the programming. But you should get in the cockpit and check it over."

Suiren nodded, heading for her machine. She climbed into her machine and pulled out the keyboard. She started typing away, her mismatched green and red eyes scanning the screen before her.

* * *

_The Minerva_

"Well...I'll raise." Dale Helbrecht said, adding chips to the pile.

"I'm out. This is getting too rich for me." Shawn Anderson said.

Tristan Palleon put a hand through his slicked back blond hair. Tristan had aristocratic features, making him quite pleasing to the eye. Something his fellow Green Coats regularly joked about. Often calling him 'Pretty Boy Palleon' and the future poster boy of ZAFT's military. While he came from a wealthy family, Tristan was about as far as one could get from the rich spoiled upper class types, one of the reasons why he was a Green Coat and not a higher ranked officer. He wished to earn his rank on his merits, not because of his family's reputation. His green eyes stared at Dale for a moment, then at his cards, then back at Dale. Dale's poker face was too good. "I fold." he said.

Hiro Yukai glanced at his cards. The brown haired and blue eyed young man had earned a less than pleasant reputation at the Academy. Prone to being emotionless and almost never trusting anyone, he was never the less an excellent pilot, more than worthy of being a Red Coat, which he graduated as. Some say that the instructors hated him so much that they tried to purposely lower his marks, though others say it was because they were afraid of giving a higher rank to someone with no past. Regardless, Hiro was fiercely loyal to those few people he called friend. Hiro grunted. "You're bluffing. I call." he said, placing his hand on the table.

Two nines and two jacks. Two pair.

Dale grinned. "Not this time." he said, laying his hand on the table.

Four kings. Four of a kind.

Hiro let out an annoyed grunt and slapped his forehead as Dale grabbed the pile and added it to his own, already large pile. "I'm going break that poker face of yours." Hiro said. "Just you wait. I'll get all those winnings back."

Dale chuckled. "Just you try, my friend. Just you try."

* * *

"Ah, Princess, Lord Uzumi. Welcome." Durandal politely said, greeting Cagalli, her father and their entourage. "I apologize for having to have you come all the way here."

"I should be the one to apologize for making you take time out of your busy schedule to meet with me, Chairman Durandal." Lord Uzumi said as the two shook hands.

"How are things in your country?" Durandal asked as the group of them moved towards the couches in the room. "I understand that ever since you've become their Chief Representative, many of the problems that ORB has been experiencing since the war, have been resolved. As the head of a friendly nation, I am happy for you. And a little envious."

"I still have a lot to learn." Cagalli admitted, taking her seat as her father took his.

"Now. What could this urgent matter be, that would require you to come here in secret?" Durandal asked, ending the small talk. "From what I've heard from our ambassadors, it's a complicated matter that you wish to discuss. Am I correct?"

"It doesn't seem to be a complicated matter to me. But we've yet to receive a clear response from you administration on this matter." Lord Uzumi answered. "My nation has made repeated requests that you cease the use of ORB's technology and human resources for your own military purposes."

* * *

_The Girty Lue_

The two remaining Third Generation Extended waited in the pilot's lounge with the two EA officers that were assigned to them as well. All were clad in their flightsuits.

Xander Alexis looked around, his red eyes scanning the group he was with. Having grown up in NASA, mainly Canada, he hated Coordinators and those who worked to protect them. His mother was convicted of having killed his father 7 years ago, and got life in prison for her deed. As a result, he hated those who protected the space monsters. He loved to kill Coordinators, no matter who they were, which was probably why he had been assigned the Verde Buster as his mobile suit. With its firepower, he could wipe out many Coordinators.

Gai Tatsuni sat bored as he waited for the mission to begin. His red hair hid his brown eyes somewhat, and he had a scar on his face that was right on his right cheek. He had no real past or any memories of his previous life, just that he had been nearly killed by Coordinators, or so he was told.

The next male of group, Gyunei Ridden, sat impatiently next to the door. His flightsuit was red and black. He had short dark brown hair and red eyes. Like Gai, he always craved action. He hated to be sitting around doing nothing. It drove him nuts, making him dangerous to be around at times. But never the less, he was a deadly pilot in combat.

Rounding out the group was a lone girl. Reccoa Schnyder was a cold and focused girl, clad in a dark blue and black flightsuit. Her white hair was cut short. She rarely displayed emotions. Like all of them, she followed orders to the letter. She commanded the team in the field whenever Treize was unable to.

There was something unusual about the Extended. All of them wore cloth masks, matching their flightsuits, over their faces. It was due to a glitch in their programming that the doctors had yet to solve. If they saw their face uncovered, they descended into a violent insanity. Attacking anyone and anything they could see, including themselves.

_"Attention. Pilots report to your mobile suits for preparation to sortie."_ a voice over the intercom said.

"Finally!" Gyunei grumbled, jumping to his feet as Xander stopped pacing. "It's almost time to begin."

The Extended reached for devices strapped to their left wrists. They were connected to devices on their chests that pumped a cocktail of combat drugs and the drugs responsible for maintaining them, directly into their bodies. Pushing a button on the watch-like device, they increased the feed of combat drugs into their systems. They then grabbed their helmets and headed for the hanger.

* * *

_Armory One_

Their talks didn't seem to be going anywhere. So Durandal had decided to continue them as they toured the Armory One Base. As Cagalli, Lord Uzumi, and Durandal talked, Athrun couldn't help but notice the large number of new mobile suits, including brand new ZAKUs. He couldn't help but wonder how close ZAFT was to violating the Treaty of Junius Seven.

"You, Representative, are a courageous woman. You fought in a mobile suit during the last war." Durandal complimented. "And you are also the successor to the Lion of Orb, Lord Uzumi. The man who holds onto his country's ideal until the very end, without giving in to pressure. What do you believe we should do with the condition the world is in now? I'm sure you already know the answer."

"We will protect our nation and our ideals. It's as simple as that." Cagalli replied.

"We will not attack another nation, will not allow another nation to attack us, and will not intervene in the conflicts of other nations, correct?"

Lord Uzumi nodded his head. "Yes."

"Naturally, we feel the same way. If possible, that would be the best way. But it is not possible without power. Even you, Princess...No, you of all people should understand that best. Isn't that why ORB maintains full military facilities?"

"Please do me a favor and stop calling me Princess."

"Representative Attha. Forgive me." he said with a slight bow. "However, I must wonder, what are you afraid of? Is it because of the pressure from the Advanced European Union? They believe that ORB is providing military aid to us regardless of the treaty."

Cagalli clenched her fist. The relations between ORB and the AEU had reached a delicate stage. She had hoped that she could convince Durandal to stop using ORB technology for military purposes, which would get the AEU off their back.

"But it is no truth to that." Durandal continued. "Although we did welcome refugees from the Battle of ORB, it's only natural that those people would wish to make a living here with the skills they have."

"But excessive power will only bring about more conflicts!" Cagalli argued.

"No Princess. Power is necessary because there will always be conflict."

Cagalli opened her mouth to say something when the base's alarms suddenly went off.

* * *

A FAITH operative and a ZAFT soldier had picked up them at designated meeting spot. They were taking them to the hanger with the mobile suits they going to steal. Treize Zabiarov didn't like it. They were supposed to trust these filthy Coordinators when they were betraying their own people. Who's to say they won't betray them? If it were up to him, he'd put a bullet in both their heads. But it wasn't.

He didn't like that FAITH operative. There was something about the man that he hated, something beyond just being a Coordinator. It was like that feeling he had in spaceport.

The FAITH operative opened a side door to the hanger. The ZAFT soldier unzipped the bag and passed out the weapons inside. Sting and Auel armed themselves with a pair of submachine guns, while Stella took a knife and a ZAFT handgun with an extended clip. Treize grabbed a submachine gun and several grenades. He also touched his wristwatch, increasing his combat drugs.

"I believe you know what to do." the FAITH operative said.

A grin spread across Treize's face. They knew. And personally, he was going to enjoy this. "We know what to do." he said. "If you don't want the same fate, leave."

"Very well then. Get to it." the FAITH operative said, before the two ZAFT soldiers left.

"For the preservation of our blue and pure world!" Treize shouted, throwing a grenade.

* * *

The FAITH operative and his comrade returned to their jeep. "I wonder. What did those men and women that loaded the nuclear warhead that would spark the Bloody Valentine War thought just before they fired it?" the FAITH operative mused as he sat down in the jeep. "Did they know they were going to start a war that nearly destroyed everything? Or did they realize that they were just parts in the never ending machine of war? And that no matter what they did, war would come."

"I do not know sir." the soldier replied.

The operative chuckled as the jeep sped off. "No one does. They died in the battle. Though I do know what Sato and his soldiers are thinking. Deep down they know they are gears in the machinery. They know they will bring about another war. And they want it. Tell me, who do you think will win the war?"

"Durandal sir." the soldier replied. "Durandal's plan is nearly flawless."

"Perhaps, though I feel that the Clyne Faction will surprise us all. Lacus Clyne is someone that should not be underestimated. Wu, Azrael, and Creuset did. And ended up losing to them." he said. "If they should win, the fools will not do anything to change the world. They will maintain the status quo, which will only bring about more wars. Because of that stupidity, I truly despise that group. They could have changed everything after the last war. Instead, they did nothing and let the world side back to its path of war. But we shall shatter the machine known as war, even if it takes a war to do so."

* * *

"Everything checks out." Suiren said to one of the technicians.

Suddenly, she grabbed her head. She felt something... Something wrong. Her eyes widened. "Intruders!" she shouted.

"For the preservation of our blue and pure world!"

A grenade landed next to a group of workers. Before they could run, it exploded. Four armed people rushed into the hanger, firing on the ZAFT soldiers and workers. The ZAFT soldiers and workers never stood a chance. The four were fast, brutal and efficient. Stella leapt into the air as String and Auel fired on the Coordinators. Auel gunned down a pair of armed soldiers atop one of the mobile suits. Stella landed, slashing one soldier's throat and shooting several others. One soldier rushed to the alarm. But before he could reach it, bullets tore through his legs and he fell to the ground. Suiren swore as she ducked behind the Specter's leg.

A soldier rushed over to her position, firing his assault rifle as he ran. "Here." he said, handing her his sidearm.

The two inched over to the edge of the Specter's foot. A moment later, the two moved from their cover and fired their fire arms, the soldier crouching down, Suiren firing above him. But Treize fired as they moved around the corner. Hitting the soldier in the head and forcing Suiren to duck behind her cover again.

"You bastard!" Suiren shouted as more ZAFT personnel died around her. "You murdering terrorists! I don't why you're doing this or what the hell you believe in but you'll never get away with this!"

"Terrorists? This isn't about fear. Nor are we terrorists. We're soldiers." Treize replied, approaching the Specter. "As to what I believe in. I believe that every one of you filthy Patchworkers must be cast out into the void of space!"

Treize rolled past the Specter's foot, his gun locked on the area where Suiren had been standing. But she wasn't there. He cautiously took a step forward, searching for her. Suddenly, Suiren jumped down from the Specter's leg, landing of Treize, knocking him to the ground. Suiren tried to pin him to the ground. But to her surprise, Treize slowly started to get to his feet with her still on top of him. She pulled out the handgun she had tucked into her belt. "Stop or I'll-"

Treize slammed his elbow into her stomach, knocking her off his back. Suiren crashed to ground, dropping her gun. Treize grabbed his weapon and pointed it at her. He smirked. Treize fired off a burst at her, killing her by a shot in the head.

Suddenly, a wounded ZAFT soldier hit an alarm. Treize turned to the man and gunned him down. But it was too late for Suiren.

"Get into the machines." Treize ordered, climbing onto one of the four machines. "Deactivate the self-destruct first."

Treize climbed into the cockpit of his machine, removing his sunglasses and replaced them with his black and red cloth mask, momentarily revealing his mismatched eyes. He activated the mobile suit. The black screens in the cockpit lit up.

**MOBILE SUIT NEO OPERATION SYSTEM**

**Generation**

**Unrestricted**

**Network**

**Drive**

**Assault**

**Module**

**G.U.N.D.A.M**

**_Ver.2.5.3 Rev.07_**

**Z.A.F.T**

Treize quickly deactivated the mobile suit's self-destruct as his team mates did the same. One by one, the Specter, the Gaia, the Chaos and the Abyss rose to their feet.

A ZAFT soldier reached the outside of the hanger. Confusion was reining among the ZAFT personnel in the base. "Intruders!" the man screamed, trying to warn everyone. "I think they're trying to steal the new machines!"

A moment later, the hanger exploded. The force of the blast threw her to ground. Emerging from the flaming wreckage was the Specter, the Gaia, the Chaos and the Abyss. "Go. Destroy the mobile suits before the pilots can get in them." Treize ordered.

The four mobile suits fired on the nearby hangers, destroying them. Many mobile suits were destroyed in an instant, along with dozens of ZAFT personnel.

* * *

Durandal, Cagalli, Lord Uzumi, and everyone else could only watch in horror as the hangers exploded. Athrun and Flay pulled Cagalli and Lord Uzumi to the ground as a group of ZAFT soldiers did the same for Chairman Durandal. Shielding them from the force of the blast and flying debris.

"It's the new models! Someone's stolen them!" a soldier shouted.

"Scramble all mobile suits! We need to recapture them!"

"New models?" Cagalli asked as she and everyone else climbed back to their feet.

At that moment, she got her answer. The Abyss appeared, firing its cannons at a hanger, destroying the mobile suits inside.

"That's a..." Cagalli stammered.

"Gundam..." Athrun finished.

GuAIZ Rs and old GINNs rushed to intercept the stolen machines. But many were quickly shot down by these new mobile suits. Treize fired the fired the Specter's beam revolvers at a wing of DINNs, shooting down the airborne mobile suits before they could get a shot off. The Gaia, in its mobile armor mode, ran between the rows of hangers and warehouses, firing at the buildings and mobile suits. The Chaos gunned down a pair of GuAIZ Rs and a GAZuOOT.

"Quickly. Get the Princess and Lord Uzumi to a shelter." Durandal ordered.

A soldier nodded. "This way." he said to Cagalli and her group.

They raced towards the shelters. But as they ran behind a hanger, Flay tripped. Athrun, Lord Uzumi, and Cagalli both stopped to help her, when at that moment, there was an explosion. The hanger had sheltered the three from the blast, but their guide hadn't been so lucky. He had been caught in the blast and killed.

Overhead, a DINN fired on the Gaia, but missed. Allowing the Gaia to leap into the air and slice the mobile suit in two. The DINN's upper half crashed into a nearby hanger. It exploded, tossing a ZAKU Warrior to the ground.

Athrun, who was holding Cagalli tightly, knew they weren't going to survive out in the open like this. There was only one option. "Come on!" he said, pulling Cagalli towards the ZAKU.

The quad quickly climbed into the green mobile suit. Athrun was at the controls, as he was the only one that could pilot the ZAKU with its Coordinator OS, while Cagalli and Flay were on either side of him with Lord Uzumi behind the seat. Athrun powered up the ZAKU and it rose to its feet. "Hold on. This is going to get rough." he warned.

It didn't take long for Stella to spot them. She fired at the ZAKU. But Athrun nimbly dodged her shots and tackled the Gaia, ramming the ZAKU's shield into it. The Gaia stumbled back, losing its rifle in the process. Stella drew a beam saber as Athrun drew the ZAKU's beam tomahawk. The two clashed, hitting the other's shield. Stella knocked Athrun back and lunged at him. However, Athrun dodged her swing and slammed his shield into her again. As Stella stumbled back, Sting landed behind the ZAKU, a beam saber drawn. He rushed the ZAKU, hoping to catch Athrun off guard. Athrun spun, trying to raise his shield in time. But he wasn't fast enough and the Chaos sliced through the ZAKU's left forearm.

Suddenly, several missiles hit the Chaos's back. Everyone turned to the newcomer. It was a small fighter. It flew past them, the legs and upper body of a mobile suit following close behind. To everyone's surprise. The fighter folded up and docked with the legs and then docked with the upper body, becoming a whole mobile suit. Then a third flier appeared before it attached itself to the machine's back, mounting a pair of anti-ship swords on the mobile suit. The red and white phase shift activated and the suit landed before them.

"Why is this happening?" Shinn Asuka asked. "Are trying to start another one? Another war?!"

* * *

Hiro Yukai was running to a secluded hanger, his teammates unaware of where he was going. He yanked out a special access card and swiped it through the reader. The doors slid open, revealing a mobile-armor-like shape.

The Red Coat ran over to it and hopped in the open cockpit. The hatch closed as he powered up the machine. Twin green optics flared to life as the machine turned from its mobile armor form to its original mobile suit form.

Outside the hanger, the battle had just begun to rage when the doors were blown open. A machine stepped out into the light as the doors smoked. The new machine had a blue chest with a green orb in the center, a V-shaped chevron, white arms and legs with red feet bottoms, and a red and white shield. In its right hand was the infamous Twin Buster Rifle. Cagalli gasped as she recognized the machine, as did Athrun and Flay. Lord Uzumi was also in shock.

"That's…" Cagalli whispered.

"Wing Zero…" Athrun murmured.

"The Berserker of JOSH-A…" Lord Uzumi muttered.

"Heero…" Flay murmured.

The twin wings were revealed on the back as the engines opened up, the thrust pushing Wing Zero into the air.

"Heero Yuy in Wing Zero, this is Athrun Zala. Do you read me?" Athrun tried to raise the pilot of the legendary machine on the radio.

Silence came in for a few seconds before a familiar face came on the screen. _"I read you."_ He said in that emotionless tone that the four knew all too well. _"I did not expect you to have arrived in the PLANTs after that defection stunt you pulled."_

Athrun just rubbed his head in an embarrassed manner.

* * *

_Washington D.C._

President Marie Hilson looked over the new machine she had received only a few days prior from an ORB ship that had arrived off the coast of the United States.

The new machine was a Murasame if she recalled correctly. But if the specs were right, then the cockpit would allow her to escape from the inside instead of relying on help from the outside. That would be useful if she was to ever get involved in combat anyway.

Her eyes gazed at the machine, which was red, white, and blue. And unlike the normal Murasame, the cockpit was reinforced as well, giving her a higher chance of survival than normal.

The U.S. president could only smile at the gift Lord Uzumi had sent her as his way of saying thanks when it came to protecting the ORB refugees that were being chased by the Earth Forces. It was the least that NASA could do for ORB, given that the two nations were allies after all.

* * *

_New Juneau_

Akira drifted into the main hub of the colony, his hair flowing out from behind him as he made his way to the center of the PLANT.

All around him, he could see other NAZAFT officers working on machines, the ICBM launchers, the missiles themselves, and the newest ship class, the _Liberty_ class ships.

Many Naturals and Coordinators were working hard at their jobs, but to the people who lived in the colony, they were all humans, not Naturals or Coordinators. They never saw genetic classes or divisions, which was how the rest of the U.S. saw the two groups as well.

Akira just sighed as he pushed off of the colony's floor and headed into a hanger, where his machine was being serviced. Looking up at the Wing, Aki' could see the past battles he fought in his mind. Tears came to his mind as he recalled his cousin Nisha's machine blowing up in space in front of him. Unconsciously, he reached up and touched the scar he had across his left eye, a reminder of that battle and what he lost.

He clenched his fist that was holding the necklace that his sister had given him so long ago, sadness and frustration rising within him. He had been unable to get back at the AEU for what they did to her, even when he had left ZAFT two years ago.

Akira looked up at the Wing once more, just hoping for any chance to get back at Blue Cosmos/LOGOs for what they had done to his family all those years ago.

Tao glanced back at where the workers were welding am armored plate into place. Soon, her new ship would be complete and would see action. It was not too long now. She smirked, thinking about how the EA would react to a ship that they could not see unless they got in a lucky shot. That would be sure to surprise them, that were for sure.

She sighed before looking back at where the colony's hanger opened into space. If it ever came down to it, she would be able to deploy at a moment's notice. Still, the chances of that happening were slim given who ran the PLANTs now.

The new Chairman, Durandal, seemed to be a nice guy, and he appeared to have the best interest of the PLANTs at heart. While that was good, his tendency to have a silver tongue really disturbed her.

Tao knew that anyone who had such a good skill at speaking had to be watched, even if it was not what it seemed to be.

That she much she knew from experience alone…

* * *

_NASA missile silos_

Former ZAFT engineers entered the first missile silo they came across, unaware that it was already in use. The first engineer looked around, spotting tools on the floor as well as open missile warheads.

"Well, it seems that this one is already in use." He mused as his eyes locked onto a computer that was on, but locked.

"Can you hack it?" another engineer asked, her voice a bit shaky from what they were about to do. Her companion grinned.

"Of course I can. This is a Natural-based firewall. I can hack it in no time." He bragged.

_"Then I would not even try it."_ A voice echoed. The two engineers looked around before seeing a whole group of scientists and engineers as well as soldiers emerge from the darkness that hid the rest of the missile stockpile.

"What?! How did…How can this place even be used still?!" the first ZAFT engineer stammered out.

"This is our missile silo, so we have continuous access to it as well as the rest of the silos in the nation." The male Natural in front replied.

"We just want to work for you!" the female ZAFT engineer replied.

The male Natural just grunted once. "Yeah, right."

With that, both ZAFT officers ran out when they saw the soldiers aiming guns at them.

"Contact the president and tell her that we had two ZAFT engineers sneak into one of our silos. This cannot be good."

"Yes, sir…"

* * *

_Pentagon_

Defense Secretary John Keller looked over the data of the missiles that were now completed. The project was now complete.

He smiled to himself, glad that the NJCs had finally paid off. Now NASA had its whole nuclear arsenal back, and the EA couldn't do anything about it.

The Natural leaned back in his chair, pleased with what the nation had pulled off. They had done what most had said they could not do, and now NASA had the right to rub their faces in it. It was at that point the door slid open to reveal a contractor from the AEU.

Keller frowned at the sight of the man. He had read the man's profile and he was a member of Blue Cosmos/LOGOs. He was no doubt there for the NJC mineral that NASA had access to.

"Ah. Defense Secretary Keller. What a nice surprise." The man gushed. Keller just glared at him. "I suppose you know why I am here?"

"No, why?" Keller asked, playing dumb.

"I am here to see if you could give us some of the mineral that is needed to make the NJCs work. You have a large amount of it, and I believe that you would be more than willing to hand it over. After all, with such a large amount, surely you would not be as affected as others claim?" the other man purred.

_'Of course. Typical of Blue Cosmos. Always wanting some means to try and wipe out Coordinators.'_ Keller thought as he formulated his response.

"I'm sorry to say this, but no. We can't just hand over the mineral to anyone who wants it. You see, there is a very strict ruling that we have in place, and anyone who wants the mineral have to undergo a background check, and most of those who undergo the check are found to have connections to groups that hate Coordinators and vice versa." He replied. _'Of course, most of those who want the mineral are of Blue Cosmos membership and/or supporters, so that would explain why no one has ever obtained the mineral, even though several NJCs were stolen in the last war.'_ He added mentally. Like he was going to say it anyway…

The man just frowned before speaking again. "Well, surely you could spare just a little bit then?"

"NO!" Keller shouted back. "I read your profile, and you are just like the rest of those Blue Cosmos/LOGOs supporters and members! You just want the mineral to make NJCs to install on your missiles that you have left and fire those at the PLANTs!"

The man just stared before gulping and shakily speaking. "W-well, y-y-you s-s-see…"

"GET OUT!" Keller yelled at the top of his lungs, making the defense contractor from the AEU run out, crying like a little girl.

"Hmph…what wimps those guys are…" Keller growled as he sat down at his desk.

The man just sighed and put his head down on his desk. Those guys were a real pain…

Just how would they be able to try and unite the world if the AEU and the rest of the Earth Alliance followed Blue Cosmos?

* * *

_White House_

President Hilson looked over the reports that she had been handed by an aide.

The first mentioned the infiltration by two former ZAFT engineers while the second was a report on the most recent attempt to obtain the mineral needed for the NJCs, although some had recently been stolen by the AEU anyway.

"So they tried the legal method to cover up their theft they pulled off…" she mused as she set the reports down.

Looking back at the massive American flag flying outside the White House, she could only sigh and shake her head at the moves of the AEU and Blue Cosmos/LOGOs.

_'Why must they always attack Coordinators? And why do they hate them so much to the point of nearly wiping out the PLANTs two years ago?'_ she wondered.

She knew that it was human nature to be afraid of things that were not known of, but Coordinators were human too. That did not mean that they were aliens from another world, like oh say, Mars, did it? No, it didn't. They were from Earth just as Naturals were.

The president could not help but smirk at the thought. Coordinators and Naturals were alike in more ways than they even knew. Yet both tried to deny it. Naturals tried to claim that they were far different from Coordinators because Coordinators were 'manufactured' so to speak, while Coordinators tried to claim that Naturals were far less intelligent than they were, and that the normal humans were only cavemen to be studied. And yet, both were far more alike than they liked to admit, even in NASA.

Coordinators and Naturals in NASA knew that they both were the same, even if they were different genetically. And that was what made NASA the ideal place for Coordinators to live, even if it was not perfect.

The AEU liked to call NASA the 'incubator of the new species', but they were not. They were far from it, in fact, and the NASA knew it. The AEU hated NASA's policies of accepting both groups of humans as humans, and that was the main source of the rivalry between the two alliances.

One discriminated against Coordinators while the other accepted them. One hated them while one did not. Both alliances did not trust one another, but only one of the two had the means to wipe out the cities of the other.

President Hilson shook her head, bringing herself back to the present.

The time for reflecting would come later.

* * *

_New Juneau_

The NAZAFT commander looked over the data that one of their spies in Armory One had sent, and it was not looking good.

There had been a theft at the colony, and of some new machines from what she read. That made her growl slightly. ZAFT had produced new Gundams, and violated the treaty no less!

How could the chairman of the PLANTs have done such a thing? And after what had happened to Heliopolis no less! That disturbed her greatly, as well as a number of NAZAFT officers. She looked out at where Armory One was located, but even the powerful cameras on the outside of New Juneau could not see what was going on inside the colony.

While NAZAFT was able to see what was going on inside the other PLANTs thanks to the powerful telescopic cameras located on the exterior of the colony, they could not see what was going on in Armory One. But the NAZAFT commander knew that it was only natural that ZAFT would want to keep the colony base closed off from even them. Still, she did not like it, even if ZAFT _was_ entitled to such a right.

It was the same with their colony. ZAFT could see the outside only, but the inside was not visible thanks to the one-way reflective glass that served as the false day and night. Of course, their colony's reason for the glass surface was entirely different. They were a military base that had nuclear ICBM missiles.

Many ZAFT officers and radical faction Supreme Council leaders had said that New Juneau was hiding something in the past due to the reflective glass, but they had not been able to prove any of their theories true.

The NAZAFT commander smirked as she recalled what the late Hong Fa Wu had claimed was hidden in the colony. He had claimed that there had been a weapon that was capable of wiping out Naturals hidden in the colony, but there had been no proof of that.

Of course, that had not been as…obscure…as some of the other claims.

Still, the PLANTs could not do anything about New Juneau's decision to keep the interior hidden from the rest of the PLANTs. It was their right as a colony and as a US State no less.

* * *

_Hanger_

The lead ship of the new _Liberty_-class was nearly finished as the new armor was being placed onto the exterior. True to its form, the ship seemed to vanish under the armor as it was locked into place. The only thing keeping the crew aware that the ship was in its berth was strobe lights all around the berth.

NAZAFT officers moved the last bit of armor into place, the crew locking it into place. Tao smirked as she watched the ship she commanded vanish completely. The mere thought of such a ship existing out there was going to put some real fear into the Earth Alliance and ZAFT should they decide to intervene again.

Now the only open places on the ship were the hangers and the doors that were not covered by the armor yet. A smile graced her face as she watched those spaces also get covered with the armor. This was going to be interesting to say the least…

The colony was now on high alert for a possible battle, which meant that the ship would be deployed for the first time in two years. With the new upgrades and the recent overhaul, the ship would be much more powerful than it was in the last war.

Hopefully that would be enough to prevent another possible attack on the PLANTs and another war. But something like that would not be enough to avert such a thing, Tao knew. If anything, it would make ZAFT a much bigger target because the ship would be classified as a ZAFT ship, even though it was now a NAZAFT ship, and their first one since the Celestial Being conflicts.

The _Virginia_-class ships NAZAFT currently used were old, much older than most ships in the current space fleets, and NASA was behind on spacecraft design. Yet, they had managed to create the first new spacecraft in sixteen years, a spacecraft that used the most advanced tech ever created and that would surpass even the _Gondwana_ in flexibility.

_'And with the new _Nile_-class ships in the works, the alliance should be able to gain an edge over even the AEU and their powerful ships.'_ Tao thought as she looked over the data one last time.

This was not going to be the first time the ship had seen combat, but it would be the first as the new ship of NAZAFT.

* * *

_Unknown Location_

A patch of ground stood empty as several buildings soared over it. Dozens and dozens of empty poles stood, the sentinels of the large complex, but only one pole was occupied. The blue and white flag waved in the breeze, the lone resident of the large array of poles.

Once, there had been many flags flying, all of different colors, shapes, and sizes. But all that had changed when the residents of the complex had decided to stop leading the world and resolving disputes between nations. Now the many poles were barren and empty, giving off an air of emptiness and coldness towards the rest of the world.

There were no guards or foreign representatives wandering the complex, nor any soldiers that remained in the once great planetary army. The many vehicles used by them were now abandoned in their stations and parking spots, never to be used again.

The parking lots were overgrown with vegetation and cracked in the parts still visible. A few cars remained, but they were now out of use, only used when food was needed for all the occupants still living there.

The complex's residents never ventured outside beyond the doors that separated them from the rest of the world, but that was fine by them. They _were_ neutral after all.

* * *

_Washington D.C._

President Hilson snarled as she pounded her fist into the table before her. Why did those fools have to be so insistent on being neutral when the world needed them most?!

"Damn it…" she muttered.

So far, NASA had the only three remaining members of the old United Nations still active in world affairs, but the rest of the world didn't. And that was what made her so mad. The rest of the world could care less about the suffering inhabitants of the PLANTs and other impoverished nations.

She looked back at the flag of the United States before closing her eyes.

Why couldn't they just see that they were not doing the world any good by being neutral on all issues?

She did not know…

* * *

_Ottawa_

Prime Minister Warson looked over at his own nation's flag, wondering why the once well-respected group was no longer caring about world affairs. It did not make any sense. They had just one day, out of the blue, declared that they would be neutral on all world affairs and never intervene in anything again.

Of course, when the Copernicus Tragedy had happened, it seemed justified that they would be neutral from then on out. But they had done that way before the attack had even happened.

Had they been expecting to be attacked for some reason, or had they just chosen to take that path and leave the world to its fate? The latter seemed more likely than the former.

The idea of them being neutral even in the face of a tense peace was beyond disturbing. But there was little the world could do about it.

In the past, several nations had tried to get the United Nations to stop being so neutral, but all had failed when the UN had said no and kicked the people out of the UN complex. But that had not stopped the newspapers, news stations, and the press from doing stories and reports on the actions. Even in the face of action by the rest of the world, the UN had not said a word on the issue, so it had faded from the minds of the rest of the population.

While the rest of the world had all but forgotten the United Nations, they knew that it was still around. The rest of the world just refused to acknowledge the fact that group still existed. Oh, the population was aware the UN was still around; they just like to think otherwise.

That made Warson so mad he pounded his fist against the wall of his office.

What would it take to get the UN to come back into the leadership role they had once held?!

* * *

_Mexico City_

President Diego Gonzalez glanced back at the flag of Mexico, which was on a lone flag pole.

Like the other two leaders of NASA, he too was wondering why the United Nations no longer took its position at the forefront of the human race's leadership. It was no right to him. And based on current intel from the old UN complex, it did not seem that they were going to change their minds anytime soon.

After the UN had gone into hiding, so to speak, one of his nation's top intel gatherers had slipped in in order to gain info on what the UN was doing at the moment. While the data had not changed for the last 63 years, there were signs of false hope that had been shot down. Now he was expecting another burst of that false hope, but he was unsure as well.

Last he had heard, President Hilson had planned to go and talk to the UN in a week or so. Given what she had done in the past, there was a good chance that she would succeed. But there was also the potential for failure as well.

But who knew? Who knew?

* * *

_Pentagon_

Keller looked back at the Traverse Gundams that were on station outside the Pentagon, standing guard in case of a potential attack.

The man shook his head before he glanced over at the reports for the new machines that had just been accepted and completed as new weapons of NASA's armed forces. One was an aerial unit while one was an underwater ambush unit. If all the testing went well, then there would be nothing that held NASA back. With new machines that stood up to and surpassed the current generation of mobile suits, NASA would be ahead in the arms race once more.

The new machine revealed currently was the NAS-X112-A Dax, a one-person submarine that could take out several ZAFT and EA subs and ships should the need arise. There were still things to be tested yet, but it held lots of potential for NASA's Naval Forces.

The man smirked. ZAFT would not be top dog for long…

Looking out the window up at space, Keller could only wonder how ZAFT was able to defy the treaty. They had recently been creating new machines, but he did not know how many were built or if ZAFT had designed anymore units that would be considered weapons of war.

The fact that Earth was digging out the N-Jammers was a good sign so far, but there were still facts that bothered him. Many of the governments on Earth still had not put the rest of their nations before anything else, and on top of it, Blue Cosmos/LOGOs still existed and held influence still.

But even then, there were some pleasing signs so far. The pro-Blue Cosmos/LOGOs Prime Minister of Great Britain had been kicked out of office and a more moderate Prime Minister had been chosen to take his place. And the SAF had declared Blue Cosmos a terrorist group, thereby making the foothold in the nation far less powerful than they had been originally.

Maybe, just maybe, things were looking up…

* * *

A new war is about to begin, but will the world be able to survive this one so soon after the last one nearly wiped out humanity? And will NASA be able to help bring an end to the war before it gets to that point?

Anyway, you all know this, but I will put it anyway. Constructive criticism is appreciated as are reviews. Flames, AKA, hate-filled/spamming reviews, **_WILL_** be reported and/or deleted depending on if they are signed or not.

Anyway, read and review! ^^


	42. Phase 2: Those Who Call For War

**New chapter is up is up! Note: I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Ian, Saul, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, Treize Zabiarov, Gyunei Ridden, Reccoa Schnieder, or the machines listed for the remaining members of the Le Creuset team, as they are Akatsuki_Leader13's and are used with his permission as such. I also do not own Xander Alexis, as he belongs to Mordalfus Grae. Nor do I own Matrin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Tao White, Akira, Nishikama, Nisha and Taikyu Itsuno, Preisdent Marie Hilson, Gai Tatsuni, NASA/NAZAFT, the Presidential Murasame, the Raptor, the Dax, Wing, Traverse, and Z.A.M. Gundams, and the colony of New Juneau.**

**KentLinuxStadfelt: I have had permission to use these new characters for a while, so no, they are not new. :3**

**CT7567Rules: You will see Flay in action soon enough. :3 And Shinn will grow over time, so you will see that for sure. :3**

**nbj- Inconsistent Guest: You obviously won't stick with a single guest name, so I will just call you '**inconsistent guest'** from now on.**

**Just a Crazy Man: No, it does not. :(**

**A0930: Ok, as for Keller, he _does_ want NASA to be in a position of power, but that is because NASA is actually the middle ground for that accepts Naturals and Coordinators. If NASA doesn't have enough power, then whose to say if NASA would be defeated. And trust me, that is _not_ what he wants to see. You will see everything soon enough. :3**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :3**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in and leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in and leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, then feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

_Cosmic Era 72. One and half years of grim war between Earth and PLANTs ended following the space battle at Jachin Due. The two sides forged a peace treaty amid the ruins of Junius Seven, a place of unprecedented tragedy during the war. The former enemies pledged themselves to work for mutual understanding and to make every effort possible to maintain peace. As a result, the world is once more on the path of stability._

* * *

Phase Two: Those Who Call For War

_Aboard the Minerva_

The poker game was intensifying. Tristan had cut his losses and quit. But Shawn was still determined to defeat Dale's unbeatable poker face. Shawn glanced at his hand. A full house. Dale was going down. "You're going down, Dale. I call."

Dale laid his cards on the table. Three eights, a two and a four. Finally, the poker king was beaten. Shawn's smile widened. "I-"

_"All hands report to Level One Battlestations! This is not a drill! Armory One is under attack! I repeat..."_

The three ZAFT green coat pilots instantly stood up, their game forgotten. "What the hell? Who'd be crazy enough to attack us here in Armory One?" Shawn said.

"Does it matter?" Tristan asked. "We're under attack."

* * *

_Armory One_

The Specter rammed it's sword through the chest of a mobile suit, piercing the cockpit and the pilot. Treize kicked the GuAIZ off his sword and glanced at his nearby teammates, just as a strange white mobile suit appeared. These pitiful mobile suits were of no interest to him. But the white machine...Well, that looked like it was something much more interesting. He quickly checked the Specter's library. There was no match. "Of course. Those bastards hid this one from us." Treize said to himself. "No matter."

The white mobile suit reminded him of the famed Strike of the last war. Treize briefly wondered if this machine's pilot was as good as the late Kira Yamato and Heero Yuy had been. It didn't matter. He had bested Yamato dozens of times in simulators and he would defeat this one as well. Wing Zero was whole different story though…

_"Why is this happening?" _Shinn asked. _"Are trying to start another one? Another war?!"_

Starting another war? Was guy really that foolish? Treize laughed. "Start another war? Of course we are! We exist only to fight in wars and kill people like you Coordinator! Like all soldiers do! If you're too weak to understand that than you don't belong in that machine!" he replied. "Allow me to fix that!"

The Specter raced forward, its sword raised. Shinn separated his swords and crossed them together, blocking Treize's attack. "Not bad. You've got some skill." Treize commented. "But you're no match for me."

Treize activated the Specter's powerful Vernier boosters, propelling it forward and knocking the Impulse to the ground. Shinn quickly started to get up, but Treize appeared above him, swinging his Tempest sword down. Shinn swung his own swords up, forcing Treize to pull back or be impaled on his blades. This allowed Shinn to get back on his feet. At that moment, however, the Abyss appeared, swinging its spear down on the Impulse. Shinn countered by delivering a kick to the Abyss's mid-section. The Gaia, in its mobile armor mode, lunged at Shinn. The Impulse jumped up, dodging the mobile suit.

"Sting, Stella, Auel, surround him." Treize ordered. "We'll overwhelm him and take him apart."

* * *

Heero grunted as he fired his machine's Gatling guns at the Chaos, preventing the pilot from getting close to the new white machine. The Chaos fired on Wing Zero, but Heero was able to dodge it with little difficulty.

The legendary machine jetted upwards to avoid getting hit by the Chaos's weapons, which were two DRAGOON pods. The Perfect Soldier then whirled around and fire with the Gatling guns once more. He could not risk using the Twin Buster Rifle inside the colony, not with so many people around.

Heero looked down, only to see a quartet of GINNs running forth, weapons drawn and firing.

This would not end well…

* * *

Shinn grit his teeth as he blocked the descending spear of the Abyss with his swords. But the moment he blocked the shot, the Specter tackled him, sending the Impulse to the ground. Shinn had to admit, while the pilots of the Gaia and the Abyss were skilled, the Specter's pilot was on a whole other level. He had never fought someone, either in a simulator or training matches, with his level of skill. Shinn hated to admit it, but he wasn't sure if he could beat him one on one. Much less take him with it as it was one against three.

An unknown machine and a quartet DINNs appeared, firing on the stolen machines. The Chaos, the Gaia and the Abyss engaged the mobile suits while the Specter stood over the Impulse, a foot pinning it to the ground. It's Tempest sword raised above the Impulse's chest. Shinn's eyes widened in horror as Treize smirked.

Suddenly, the one armed ZAKU Warrior lunged at the Specter with its tomahawk, allowing Shinn to get back up as Treize dealt with it.

Athrun swung his axe down. But Treize blocked it with his shield and before Athrun could react, trust his sword into the side of the arm holding the axe, severing it. Treize then grabbed the ZAKU, turning it around and using it as a shield. Athrun swore as he tried to get them out of the Specter's grip. But there was little he could do. Cagalli, Flay, Lord Uzumi, and himself were now little more than a human shield for the Specter.

_"You coward!"_ Shinn shouted.

"Only cowards and weaklings don't use all resources on the battlefield." Treize said with a sneer. "What will it be? Gonna attack me at the cost of his life?"

Shinn scowled, but didn't move. He couldn't risk it.

"Drop your swords." Treize ordered.

Shinn complied, letting his swords drop onto the ground. "Good. Now catch!"

Treize threw the ZAKU into the Impulse. Shinn caught the mobile suit. But as soon as he did, the Specter jumped up, firing its cannon at them.

Shinn, acting on reflex, threw the ZAKU out of the way and jumped back. The ZAKU crashed into the ground. Athrun was fine in the pilot's chair, and Flay managed to brace herself against the side of the cockpit, reducing the impact on her. Lord Uzumi was fine as well, shielded by the seat. But Cagalli wasn't so lucky. Her head slammed against the side of the cockpit and she fell onto Athrun. "Cagalli!" a worried Athrun shouted.

She was unconscious and bleeding from a head injury. He had to get her out of here now. He got the ZAKU back onto its feet and took off.

The ZAKU's departure didn't even register on the minds of Shinn and the Extended. Shinn drew his rifle and fired at the Specter. Treize fired up his boosters again, launching him higher into the air. Most of Shinn's shots missed while the few that did find their mark, hit his shield. Treize fired the Specter's multi-phase beam cannon again. Shinn jumped back, narrowly missing the beam. The Specter landed and Treize drew his beam revolvers, firing at the Impulse. Shinn struggled to dodge his shots.

Treize fired his cannon. Shinn dove to the right to avoid it. But as he did, Treize fired in his path. The beam hit the ground in front of Shinn. The explosion knocked the Impulse back and knocked away its rifle. Treize snickered. "You're right handed. I can tell you. Because you favor dodging to the right." he explained. "I knew that if I fired at you, you would most likely move to your right to dodge it. Quite predictable. Your machine might be an excellent mobile suit. But it's clearly wasted on an inferior pilot like you."

_"Shut up!"_ Shinn shouted as he stood back up.

Treize ignored him. "How about this? You power down your machine and climb out. And I spare your life-"

_"No way!"_ yelled Shinn as he fired on the Specter.

Treize dodged the shots effortlessly and shook his head. "You truly are a miserable example of your wretched kind. Your piloting skills are lacking and you're rude, Patchworker. I was offering you an excellent deal and you don't even let me finish. No matter. I'll kill you and take what's left of your machine."

Treize drew his sword and rocketed down from the sky, heading for the Impulse at the Specter's maximum speed. There wasn't much Shinn could do and they both knew it.

Suddenly, Treize stopped, feeling a pair of pulses. A trio of beams shot past him. Had he been moving forward, the beams would have hit him. Both pilots as well the other Extended, turned towards the source of the beams.

_"Hey thief! Those belong to us!"_ A GINN pilot shouted, firing at the Specter as Luna and Rey fired on other stolen mobile suits. _"And we want them back!"_

"Pathetic. I will get to you in good time." Treize said, dodging his shots and drawing one of his beam revolvers.

Sting and Stella joined him, firing back with their beam rifles as Auel fired the beam guns mounted on the Abyss's shoulder fins. Luna and Rey evaded the shots as they fired their beam assault rifles at the four.

As this was going on, Shinn rushed towards where the Impulse's swords laid. Treize glanced at the Impulse. "Sorry. I can't allow you to do that, inferior one." he said, rushing after Shinn and raising his sword.

But just as he reached the Impulse, Shinn grabbed his swords and spun around. Two blades met one. Shinn and Treize battled to overpower the other. As they clashed, the other pilot drew his tomahawk and rushed towards the Specter. Just as he reached him, Treize hit the Specter's Verniers and shot up into the air. The pilot swore as he stopped his charge. Treize kicked the pilot's ZAKU from behind, slamming it into the Impulse.

Auel fired his beam guns at Rey's ZAKU, forcing Rey to duck under his shots, drawing his tomahawk as he did. Rey lunged forward, swinging his axe. Auel blocked Rey's attack with his spear, only to follow that up with a knee into the ZAKU's chest. Elsewhere, Sting, who had broken away from his fight with Heero, and Stella traded shots with Luna. The beams from the Extended forced Luna to take cover behind the wreckage of a hanger. Luna reached for one of her ZAKU's grenades. "Let's see how you like this!" Luna said, tossing the grenade at the pair.

The grenade landed between the Chaos and the Gaia. The two pilots dove away just as it went off, allowing Luna to fire back at them.

* * *

_Outside Armory One_

Unbeknownst to the ZAFT forces at Armory One, the _Girty Lue_, cloaked under its Mirage Colloid, closed in on the ZAFT space port and nearby vessels. Its hangers open. A Z.A.M. Gundam, a Blu Duel, a Rosso Aegis and a Verde Buster were launched.

The Z.A.M. Gundam and the Buster slowly headed for the spaceport while the Duel and the Aegis head towards one of the patrol ships.

The mobile suits slowly headed for the dock, undetected by any of the ZAFT ship or those in the space port command center. Gai Tatsuni grinned as he piloted his Z.A.M. Gundam towards the unsuspecting Coordinators. He glanced back at the lagging Verde Buster. He stopped and grabbed the Buster's arm, opening a private contact channel. "Come on, Xander! Hurry up! I wanna wipe out some Coordinators!"

_"Don't worry Gai. We'll make it in time to start the attack. And we'll make them all pay for existing."_ Xander replied, glancing out at the PLANTs. _"Shame we can't stay to crush the Patchworkers' feeble hourglasses as well."_

The two male EA officers reached the dock, keeping out of sight. Three Laurasia-class warships were inside. All unaware of what was about to happen.

Elsewhere, the Blu Duel and Rosso Aegis silently approached the underside of a patrolling Nazca-class. "How typical of the Coordinators to rely upon their technology and distance from Earth to protect them." Reccoa commented. "How fitting that we should kill them where they feel safest."

Aboard the hidden _Girty Lue_, Captain Neo Roanoke glanced at his watch. By now, the Lieutenant and the others should have stolen the machines and would soon be making their escape. "Sir. The mobile suit team is in position." one of the _Girty Lue_'s officers said.

Neo nodded. "Activate Gottfrieds. Load missile tubes with Sledgehammers. Target the port Nazca-classes. Fire!"

The Girty Lue's Gottfrieds fired. The beams tore the first Nazca-class. The Girty Lue's Mirage Colloid deactivated as it let loose a barrage of missiles at the second ZAFT warship, destroying it too.

Gyunei grinned, igniting his arm mounted beam sabers. "Time to cast into the void, Space Aliens!" he yelled, moving in front of the warship.

He roared, charging at the ship's hanger. He drove the blades into the hanger, cutting a strip out of it. Gyunei pushed the Rosso Aegis's chest up against the hole. He fired several beams from his Scylla II cannon into the hanger. Explosions blossomed across the ship's hull. A moment later, the ship exploded.

Alarms went off in the spaceport control room. The Laurasia-class ships started to leave the dock, heading to attack the intruder. _"Let's get it started!"_ Xander shouted. _"For the preservation of our blue and pure world!"_

"Yeah!" Gai shouted, hitting a button on his console. Rock music blared into the cockpit and every channel. "For the preservation of our blue and pure world!"

Confusion reigned across the ZAFT forces in the dock and nearby it. An unknown ship had just appeared and destroyed two ZAFT vessels while a third had been taken down by a mobile suit. And now the comm channels were all filled with music preventing them from effectively communicating with the nearby ZAFT vessels and even those within Armory One. Before those inside the warships and the dock itself could react, beams and missiles tore through the hanger. A beam tore through the bridge of the first Laurasia-class. It crashed into the dock floor. Several of the Verde Buster's beams and missiles tore through the thrusters of the second Laurasia-class, causing it to crash into the spaceport control room. Explosions tore through the spaceport, claiming the last Laurasia-class.

* * *

_Armory One_

Everyone stopped as they felt the vibrations from the battle outside the colony. "Damn." Treize said, glancing up. "Sting, Stella, Auel. We're leaving."

_"Aw... Already?"_ Auel whined. _"What about that one?"_

"Leave it. Our orders are to take these machines back to the ship. We can deal with that one at a later date." Trezie replied. "It's time to leave."

The Specter, the Gaia, the Abyss and the Chaos took off, heading towards a distant section of the colony wall. "Come on. We're not going to let these guys escape." Heero said over the com-line, taking off after them.

Shinn, Rey, and Luna followed him, startled at who he really was but kept on firing at the fleeing Extended. But a few moments after they took to the air, one of the thrusters on her ZAKU, exploded. _"Lunamaria! Are you alright?"_ Rey called out as Luna's ZAKU started falling back.

"I'm fine. But I can't sustain my altitude."

_"There's nothing you can do. Fall back to the_ Minerva_."_ Rey said.

"Right." Luna said, her red ZAKU pulling away from the group.

A warning light went off in Shinn's cockpit. The Impulse was running low on power. Fortunately, running low on power wasn't a serious problem for the Impulse. So long as it wasn't cut off from the _Minerva_ anyway. "Meyrin, launch the Force Silhouette." Shinn said, calling the warship.

_"Roger. Launching Force Silhouette now."_

A moment later, a flyer was launched from Minerva. Shinn detached the Sword Silhouette and deactivated Impulse's phase shift. The Force Silhouette then attached itself to the Impulse back, boosting the Impulse's battery. Its gray armor turned white and blue.

'Interesting. So that machine is indeed heavily modeled after the GAT-X105 Strike.' Treize thought as he watched the Impulse. _'Figures. The best weapon the Coordinators have is ripped off from our machines.'_

The Impulse and the ZAKUs started firing at them. The four Extendeds evaded the shots as they continued towards the colony wall. A beam from the Impluse narrowly missed the Gaia's side. Stella let out a frustrated growl as she turned around and fired on the Impulse. Shinn sidestepped her shots and continued to fire on her.

* * *

_Outside Armory One_

"C'mon Coordinators! Dance to my music!" Gai said as he fired on a pair of GuAIZ Rs, destroying them. "No no no. That was terrible."

Another GuAIZ appeared, firing on him. Maia sidestepped the beams. "Okay. Once more. With feeling this time." he sneered, firing back on the mobile suit.

A beam tore through the GuAIZ's right knee. Another beam severed its left shoulder. The damaged GuAIZ staggered back. But Gai didn't let up. He continued to fire on the ZAFT machine. Blowing off its head and remaining limbs. "That's better. Still not good. But better." the EA officer said, aiming at the GuAIZ's torso.

A shot rang out and GuAIZ exploded.

The Verde Buster fired its beam cannon and gun launcher at a Nazca-class, hitting the warship's hanger as a GuAIZ R was about to launch. Xander laughed as a fireball consumed the entire hanger and its mobile suits. The Rosso Aegis, in its mobile armor mode, grabbed a CGUE in its limbs. Gyunei smirked as he squeezed the mobile suit, crushing its body. "Oops... I broke this one." he said, laughing. "Someone bring me another one!"

A pair of GuAIZs fired at him. "You'll do!"

He fired his Scylla cannon. The beam pierced one GuAIZ as the other tried to dodge it. But he was unprepared for the curving nature of the beam and was hit too.

More ZAFT mobile suits approached the four pilots. Reccoa fired her beam guns, taking down a trio of GuAIZs and a CGUE. "Pathetic." she said. "These Coordinators are utterly hopeless."

_"What's taking them so long?"_ Gyunei impatiently asked, slicing a pair of GuAIZs in two. _"I thought this was supposed to be a quick grab and run. Don't tell me that Big Bad Treize is losing his touch."_

"Hey! You better watch your mouth." Gai shot back, firing his shoulder cannons at Laurasia-class. "That guy won't like hearing that. He'll kill you for saying that."

Elsewhere, aboard the _Girty Lue_, Neo was growing impatient as well. He had expected better of Treize. Out of all of the Extended, Treize was the best and normally the most reliable of all three generations that had come out of the labs. Even an unexpected problem shouldn't have kept him busy for long.

While the combat abilities of the Extended were incredibly high, even they would eventually be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the ZAFT forces undoubtedly heading to aid the surviving forces of Armory One. "Have my Exus prepped for launch." he said, rising from his seat.

* * *

The Extended were finally nearing the colony wall. Unfortunately, Stella had become obsessed with destroying the Impulse. As a result, she was dangerously lagging behind. "Come on Stella!" Sting called out as he fired at Rey's ZAKU. "We need to get out of here!"

_"No! I can beat him! I will beat him!"_ Stella yelled back as she swung a beam saber at the Impulse.

Shinn blocked the saber with one of his own and then slammed his shield into the Gaia's chest, knocking the black machine back. _"Fine then."_ Auel said with a smirk. _"I'll guess you'll just stay here and die!"_

Stella froze. Her eyes widened as her body trembled. _"Die... Am I going to die? NO! I don't want to die!" _she screamed, rushing towards the colony wall.

_"Idiot!"_ Treize shouted as he fired his beam revolvers at Heero. "_Why the hell did you use her block word?!"_

_"Hey. It got her moving, didn't it?"_ Auel replied in his defense.

As the ZAFT pilots and the three remaining Extended pilots battled, Stella reached the colony, firing at it, desperate to get back to the _Girty Lue_, back to Neo. Back to where she'd be safe. Her beams slammed into the wall, damaging it. She continued to fire.

"Dammit." Shinn swore as he watched the Gaia fire upon the colony wall. He had to stop them from damaging the colony any further. He raced toward the Gaia, when the Specter shot out in front of him.

Treize fired at him, forcing Shinn back. "Not so fast, inferior one. You have to get through me first."

Suddenly, a golden blast flew towards the Specter, forcing it to dive out of the way. "I don't think so." Heero growled, bringing his machine towards the pair. "You will not escape me!"

Heero powered up his engines and flew after the Specter, knowing that the pilot was more than the ZAFT pilot could handle. He fired a low-power blast from his machine's rifle, despite the risk of destroying part of the colony.

The Natural growled as the Specter barely dodged the beam.

Treize growled as he dodged the blast that had been fired at him. How could this pilot be so good, given that it was a ZAFT officer? Could this guy be an ace?

"Time for you to die, Coordinator!" the Extended shouted as he fired on the legendary machine that was now following him.

_"I am no Coordinator."_ Those four words clinched it.

Treize could hardly believe who he was facing. The machine that he had always failed to beat in the simulators was right in front of him! _'This is…the Berserker of JOSH-A?!'_

Things just got harder than he had expected…

* * *

_ZAFT Aid Station_

"Who's in charge here?!" Durandal asked as he and his bodyguards approached. "I need a status report now!"

Ian Kessel and a ZAFT officer approached the group. "Chairman, it's not safe here." Ian said. "Please sir, get to a shelter."

"How can I head for shelter when I don't even know what's going on?!" Durandal argued.

Ian sighed. He opened his mouth to say something, when a ZAFT officer approached the group. "Sirs. We still can't reach Dock Control or the outside."

Ian shook his head. "You want to know what's happening, everything's gone south. Our GuAIZs and older mobile suits are torn apart by the stolen prototypes while most of our ZAKUs were either destroyed or badly damaged in the first minutes of the attack. And we have no idea what's happening outside the colony." he explained. "Now please sir, at least get to the _Minerva_. There's not much you can do here and if worse comes to worse, the _Minerva_ will be able to get you to safety."

Durandal scowled as he glanced at the docked warship. "Fine."

* * *

_Outside Armory One_

A trio of GuAIZs headed for the two Extended pilots and the two EA pilots, only to be suddenly cut down by three barrages of shots, from three different directions, destroying all of them. Neo recalled his Exus's gun pods as he glanced at Armory One, looking for some sign of the other team.

It didn't take him long. He spotted a portion of the colony wall glowing red from weapons fire. They were blasting through the colony. "Xander." Neo called out. "Have you ever blown a hole in a colony?"

_"No sir. Not yet."_ came his reply.

"Well now's your chance. Treize's team is trying to punch out a hole for their escape. These are their coordinates. Use your remaining missiles and help them out." he ordered. "Everyone else head back to the ship."

_"With pleasure sir."_ Xander said, heading for the site as the Z.A.M. Gundam, Blu Duel and Rosso Aegis returned to the _Girty Lue_.

When Xander reached the site, he unloaded his missiles. They hit the already weakened wall as Stella fired another barrage. It was too much for much for the wall. It exploded.

The ZAFT pilots all gasped as an explosion tore through the colony wall. An instant later, air started being sucked into space, pulling the Gaia outside the colony. Treize smirked as he pulled away from the Impulse. "Sting, Auel, the door's been opened. Let's go."

The Chaos's pods reattached themselves. _"Roger. Withdrawing."_

Rey and Auel clashed. Tomahawk met spear. But Auel won, cutting through the handle of the tomahawk, just above the ZAKU's hand. Auel grinned, spinning his spear. The butt of the weapon hit the white mobile suit, knocking it aside, allowing Auel to regroup with his teammates. _"I'm coming."_

The trio fled into the gaping hole, escaping into space.

"Shinn, come on. We're not gonna let these bastards go home after all they've done." Rey said, racing after them.

Shinn shook his head and followed Rey. _"We can't just let them escape. Not after what's happened."_

"Right, now let's go!"

* * *

_The Minerva's Bridge_

Talia Gladys, Captain of the _Minerva_, scowled as they watched the Impulse and the ZAKUs fly through the hole in the colony.

"Captain!" Meyrin Hawke, the _Minerva_'s Combat Information Control Officer, called out. "The Impulse is running low on power! Only three hundred seconds at most!"

Talia stood up from her chair. "We cannot afford to lose the Impulse as well. Prepare the _Minerva_ for launch." She turned to the ship's guest. "I trust you don't have a problem with that, Chairman."

"No." Durandal quietly replied. "We really have no other choice at this point."

"Commence _Minerva_ launch sequence." the _Minerva's_ XO, Arthur Trine said over the intercom. "The ship is now switching to combat status."

"Gunnery crews, FCS contact. All personnel, set all projectile weapons to Grade One."

Talia turned to Durandal again. "Mr. Chairman, please disembark now."

"No Talia. This is not a situation where I can just stay behind and wait for reports." he replied. "I have duties along with my authority. I will accompany this vessel. Please allow it."

Talia just shook her head. There was little she could. If he wished to stay on board, she didn't have the authority to stop him.

* * *

Athrun landed the damaged ZAKU onto the open catapult of the new ZAFT warship. Cagalli had regained consciousness, but was still in daze and possibly had a concussion. Athrun parked the ZAKU in the _Minerva_'s hanger and opened its cockpit hatch. He and Cagalli left first, riding the cable down to the ground.

"You there! Don't move." a maroon haired girl in a Red Coat uniform ordered, a gun trained on them. "Who are you? And how did you get aboard that ZAKU?"

More ZAFT soldiers, as well as members of the hanger crew and four regular ZAFT pilots gathered around her. Unsure of what was going on.

"Lower your weapon." Athrun replied. "This is the Chief Representative of ORB, Cagalli Yula Athha and her father, Lord Uzumi. I am one of her attendants, Alex Dino." He then gestured at Flay, who had reached the ground. "And this is her assistant, Flay Allster. We were caught up in the commotion during our meeting with Chairman Durandal. And since we were unable to find shelter, we were forced to borrow this machine to protect ourselves."

Luna and the soldiers lowered their weapons. "ORB's Chief Representatives?" a very confused Luna asked. "But why would they be here?"

"The Representative has been injured!" Athrun said. "She needs medical attention. And is the Chairman aboard this ship? If so, we need to see him immediately."

Luna nodded. She wasn't really sure what to do. So she figured that she would have to take them to the Captain to get this all sorted out.

* * *

_Outside Armory One_

As the two ZAFT pilots entered space through the hole, both Rey and Shinn felt a presence. Rey's eyes widened. "Look out!" he shouted.

Beams rained down on them from a number of different angles. A beam blasted the Impulse's shield from its hand. Another grazed the left side of Rey's Phantom, carving a gash on its head. A third beam severed the right shield of Rey's ZAKU But thanks to his warning, those were the only beams that hit them.

"So this is what was keeping Treize and the others busy." Neo said as he continued his attack. "It's my fault. I should have expected there to be more prototypes we weren't aware of."

Shinn and Rey struggled to evade the beams from the Exus's gunbarrels. They had all seen the intruders' ship. But there was little they could do while they fought just to evade the beams. "Dammit! Where the hell are all these beams coming from?" exclaimed Shinn.

"Gunbarrels." Rey replied. "Just like our DRAGOON system, only wire-guided. One guy can attack from multiple directions at once, making it difficult to fight such machines. Especially against someone that can use them to their maximum potential. Just focus on staying alive."

Rey took aim as he continued to dodge Neo's shots. This was the tricky part, trying to track something that was almost always moving while having to dodge the shots of the gunbarrels. It required a great deal of skill and luck. He fired. A beam pierced a gunbarrel. But just after he fired, another gunbarrel fired at him, hitting his rifle. Rey swore as he and Shinn fired their backup rifles at the mobile weapons. Shinn's shots were too slow, utterly missing his targets. Rey did a bit better, able to better predict where the weapons were going. But he still missed his targets.

Neo smirked. "Not bad. But not good enough. Now I'll take that fifth one if you don't mind."

But at that moment, a massive set of doors on Armory One started to open. Everyone stopped and turned to the doors. The doors finished opening, revealing the _Minerva_. The dock clamps detached themselves from the ship. The _Minerva_ took off, its wings unfolding.

Neo then took notice of another presence, one that was much more experienced in combat than he was. He turned around, only to see a machine that was thought to have been destroyed. And in its right hand was the infamous Twin Buster Rifle…

"So, Wing Zero has arrived…time to see if the pilot is the real deal, just like the machine…" he smirked as he flew by the legendary unit.

But what he did not know was that it _was_ the real deal…

* * *

_New Juneau_

The NAZAFT officers looked over towards Armory One, which was also a PLANT, only to see the signs of a battle going on.

It was something that ZAFT could handle, they figured, so they left the battle alone.

But one officer, Lt. Akira Nishikama, could not get the battle out of his head. Being a Bloody Valentine veteran, he had a feeling that the battle was not a normal one, or at least one of the battles that had become more common in the aftermath of the previous war.

And he was right…

* * *

_Washington D.C._

President Hilson was unaware of the battle taking place in space, but that did not mean that she was no busy with other things that were just as important. She looked over the reports on the missiles, pleased that the outfitting of the NJCs had been completed. It was not long now…

An attack on the PLANTs was what NASA was expecting, but they were not sure as to when it would occur. That was what was bothering her. The Earth Forces had not made a move since the end of the previous war, where she too had seen action, despite being the President of the United States.

The president sighed as she looked back at where the White House security was located, knowing that she had only a limited ability to roam where she wanted to. She smirked though, knowing that in battle, she could roam without any restrictions. If she was ever on the frontlines again, she would have the ability to go wherever the troops went.

That was the one advantage she had now, and it was only because of the mission she had pulled off during the last war.

Closing her eyes, President Hilson wondered if her family had truly attained peace now that the one behind their murders had been killed.

_'Mother, Father, Brother…are you all happy now? Are you finally at peace? I hope you are…'_

-_Flashback-_

_A young girl ran around, her older, adopted brother hiding behind a bush. The young boy was shaking as his sister peeped around at him._

_"What's wrong?" she asked._

_The boy gulped and emerged in a timid manner. "I-I'm just s-s-scared is a-all…" he murmured softly._

_"Hey, it's okay. No one will hurt you here." The girl said reassuringly. The boy seemed unsure about her claims though, but he still followed her regardless._

_The house had a nice big front yard, with three trees on either side of the walkway and porch. Blue siding lined the house, with two stories of it standing tall and proud. Black shingles lined the rooftop, but those were actually solar panels in purpose. The garage, on the right side of the front yard, had a white door, with a lone car in the driveway. The lawn was nice and neat, with flowers along the sides of the walkway and driveway._

_Inside the residence, people had gathered to see the new member of the family._

_The young boy was shaking as the members of his new family glared at him, or so he thought. In reality, they were looking at him in an unsure manner._

_"So, this is the boy you took in? I find it hard to believe that he is so friendly. He looks more timid if you ask me." A woman said as she glanced at him._

_"Hey, he was taken in from a Blue Cosmos supporting family. They treated him badly since he refused to accept their ideals. It would only be natural for him to be nervous around other family members who thought the same." His adoptive father, Senator Mark Allen, replied. The senator looked back at his newest family member with a calming smile._

_Still, the boy shook in his socks._

_"Still, I am unsure about this. What if the family reacts?" another man asked._

_"We will worry about that when we come to it. Right now, he needs to be treated with respect and kindness. He is still recovering from his ordeal." Senator Allen replied._

_Mackenzie ran towards her father, panting as she reached his car. "Father…*pant*…An…*pant pant*…Andrew…Ab…ducted…*pant*…Blue Cosmos…"_

_Senator Allen looked at her, a furious look on his face. "What?!"_

_"They…took him…to…the old…library…to…burn it down…" his daughter replied._

_This made the older man even madder. "Get in!"_

_"What?"_

_"GET. IN. NOW!"_

_Mackenzie gulped but did so anyhow. There was no messing with her father when he used that tone on her._

_Andrew Henry Allen-Guss looked at his adoptive father with a happy grin, relieved to be free of his past once more…_

_Senator Allen looked at his daughter, glad that she was alright…_

_Maria Allen smiled as she watched her family play around, feeling at peace with herself…_

_-End Flashback-_

The president cried as she closed her eyes once more.

The pain never seemed to fade away, even with time…

* * *

_Pentagon_

Defense Secretary John Keller walked through the halls of the Pentagon, a report in his hands. On the piece of flimsi-paper was the data on the AEU's latest military movements. He read it over, several things catching his eye.

"The AEU has decided to try and declare war on the PLANTs? Not again…" he moaned as he threw his head back in exasperation. This was the fifth time he had heard about the AEU's plan to do that, and once again, he would need to try and talk them out of it.

"I'm surprised we haven't used an ICBM on them yet…" the older man muttered under his breath. As if the president would allow it…

Keller looked up as an aide approached him. "Sir."

"There you are." The Defense Secretary said as he walked up to the aide. "I need you to take this to the president."

"Sure thing sir." The aid replied as he took the report.

With that done, the aide left, leaving Keller alone in the Pentagon's hallway…

* * *

_AEU_

A man looked over the data on the new machines, pleased with what he was reading.

"Soon, those Coordinators will fall to us…" he said with glee, a sneer on his face.

* * *

_Armory One_

Shinn fired on the machine with the large rifle, hoping to get a hit. "Damn it! This one's fast!" he swore as he tried to hit the machine again.

The pilot just dodged the blows, either gloating at his actions, or just plain mocking him. Shinn then fired once more, but the machine took the blast on its shield with no trouble at all.

"Just who is this guy?!" Shinn growled.

On the _Minerva_, Captain Gladys had visual on the Impulse. And the machine he was fighting as well…

* * *

_New Juneau_

The crew of the ship was soon onboard as the colony's hanger bay opened. _"All crew members of the _USS Constitution_, prepare for launch. Repeat, all crew members, prepare for launch!"_ a male voice said as the crew ran one last systems check.

The hanger doors revealed the outside of the colony, which was now facing the Armory One direction. Engines began to whine as they powered up. With the thrust provided, the new ship moved out into space, and headed for the battle.

* * *

_USS Constitution_

Aki' was in the bridge with several other members of the crew, Tao in the captain's seat. The blue coat looked over at his superior. "Are you sure that the ship is ready for its combat debut?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm sure of it. If I wasn't, then we would not be heading into battle, now would we?" she replied.

The lieutenant just sighed. "I just can't believe that a new war is about to begin. Isn't this how the last war began?"

"No, the last war began through a nuclear attack on the PLANTs." Aisha replied as she looked back. "The current situation is not the beginning of a new war, or so I hope."

That made Tao look down. "So do I, Aisha. So do I." She then looked back up, glancing out the bridge window.

"Bring us to the site of the battle. Full speed ahead." She ordered.

With a whine, the engines increased thrust to maximum power and the ship's speed increased greatly. They just hoped that it was enough to get there in time to make a difference.

* * *

_Washington D.C._

The Defense Secretary looked back at the President, who was now getting into The Beast, still unable to believe that despite what she had done in the past, she was still in office. Many had criticized her actions in the past, but she had remained by her convictions, despite the pressure to resign more than once.

Her family had not been well-known in most other arenas of the political field and lifestyle, but when it came to Coordinator and Natural rights, in the beginning, they had been called crazy and ignorant. In the end though, they had come through for both groups, and it was all because of their persistence.

Keller could just barely recall a time when Coordinators did not have the same rights as Naturals, but that had all changed when the famed Senator Mike Allen had come onto the scene. He had pressed for the Coordinators to have the same rights as Naturals, only to be shot down. The senator had been threatened and called a Coordinator-fanboy, but he had stood by his ideals, even in the face of the more experienced Senators calling for him to resign.

That had been back in the 20s of the C.E. Era, when he himself had been only a boy. And even then, it had been unthinkable that Coordinators would be treated equally in the U.S. And yet, now Coordinators were treated the same as Naturals.

When the Coordinators had begun to appear in NASA, people had demanded that they be kept in check through harsh laws that discriminated against them. And it had worked until those Coordinators began to get older. Their parents had been unhappy as well, and had begun to demand that their children be treated as humans instead of products, but their pleas had fallen on deaf ears, and when something _had_ been done about it, the laws passed had lacked effective enforcement.

But then, a little-known senator had stepped onto the scene, pressuring the members of the Senate and House to pass effective laws, even though it fell on deaf ears. That senator had been Senator Mike Allen, a senator only in his third year.

Senator Allen had spoken out against the harsh laws against Coordinators, calling them unneeded and going too far when Coordinators were human as well. But he had been shot down by the senior Senators, called a naïve fool, and just shoved aside for more important matters.

When the ship of George Glenn had announced that an alien fossil had been found, the lawmakers began to act, but too slowly until Senator Allen had said that future voters would be disenfranchised from most rights including the right to vote. Then the Human Recognition Act of 0027 had been passed, but like all laws dedicated to protecting Coordinator rights at the time, it lacked a means of being effectively enforced.

Then, when the ship returned to Earth and studies on the alien fossil began, Coordinators began to become more accepted because Glenn had done the impossible: he found an alien specimen. People began to accept Coordinators as the next stage of human life, and that led to new recognition as being human.

Then, in C.E. 0032, Coordinators in Chicago were attacked, and Blue Cosmos was found to be guilty of the acts. Despite there being no laws to protect Coordinator children from the attacks, the Blue Cosmos members were found guilty of attacking children and other serious charges that carried harsh prison terms and the death sentence. This led to riots in cities all around the U.S., which got press attention from every news station around. Everyone could see the parents of Coordinator children marching to get the attention of the Congress and the rest of the government, and it worked. The police also joined in due to several of the officers being parents to Coordinator children too. There was no way for the marches to be ignored, and when Senator Allen spoke up again, calling on Congress to act, they did. He pushed through massive law reforms in Congress, which they agreed to. And it worked.

Then, two years later, Senator Allen's work finally paid off. The Human Recognition Act of 0034 was passed, but with major reforms and revisions, as well as effective enforcement. And that had been the Allen Family's first major achievement.

Keller shook his head as he looked back at the presidential limo driving off, bringing himself back into the present.

Reflections were good and all, but not when he had a job to do.

Still, he knew that it was also because of the president's father that the next big law in Coordinator rights had been passed. In C.E. 42, the late Senator Mark Allen had pressed for the Coordinator Protection Act of 0042, but in addition to protecting the Coordinators from discrimination, it also protected the Naturals from losing their jobs to Coordinators. It had been hailed as the most comprehensive law protecting Coordinators and Naturals ever passed.

That had been when the Allen Family had become the Allen Political Dynasty, a feat the only the Kennedys had achieved before. Of course, there had been other Allen family members in the political arena that had been vital in those two laws being passed, but it had been the Senators Mike and Mark Allen that had pressed for those laws to be passed the hardest.

And it was now their greatest legacy…

The president looked on as she rode in The Beast, the buildings of Washington D.C. rushing by as she was taken to the airport where Air Force One was stationed. She was aware that she was going to the AEU to try and work out something regarding the Coordinators, but the doubts of a successful trip were on her mind.

The current success rate with the AEU was not even one meeting high, and she doubted it would even get that high as well.

Still, President Hilson knew that she had to try or at least work on breaking ground to reach a compromise. But even that seemed to be impossible. She just had to take it as it came, and what happened was what happened.

* * *

_London, England_

_Ten hours later_

President Hilson sat in the Embassy of the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister of Britain before her. The man was in a black suit with grey hair and green eyes. He gave off the air of an experienced politician, which she was not.

"So, I hear you want to talk about the issue regarding the Coordinators, right?" the Prime Minister asked as he folded his hands in his lap.

"Yes, I do." President Hilson replied as she leaned back in her chair, her arms folded over her chest. "And I do not want to talk about _NASA_'s supposed wrong-doing in supporting the Coordinators and their rights. That has occurred in the past every time I have come here, and frankly, I am sick and tired of it."

The Prime Minister nodded. "So I heard. But you can relax. That is not what I want to talk about."

That made President Hilson gape in shock. She shook her head before she hit her head on the side a few times to make sure she was not hearing things. "What did you say?"

"I said I did not want to criticize you for your actions in the Coordinator rights arena. Why is that such a shock?" The Prime Minister asked.

"Sorry. It's just that whenever I have come here, I have never heard anyone say such a thing. Mostly I have been met with representatives, never the Prime Minister before. But I heard that you were recently appointed, am I right?"

"Yes, I was. Just a few weeks ago, to be more precise."

"Then you are aware of the current situation with the AEU?"

"Yes, I am. And frankly, I am disappointed in the way they have acted in recent years. Going as far as to launch an invasion on your soil was a bit too much and was too far extreme a reaction to what you had decided to do. Of course, that is just my personal opinion, not that it matters."

"Oh, it does matter. Believe me, I know that all too well." President Hilson replied as she reflected on her family's achievements. "Personal opinion can lead to new things if actions are taken, whether those things be great or bad."

The Prime Minister nodded. "I see. Well, shall we get to work then?"

"Yes…"

* * *

_Next day_

As Air Force One headed back to the States, President Hilson could not help but feel a bit of pride at her work. It had also helped that the new Prime Minister of Britain was more open-minded on the issue of Coordinators, so that had allowed her to make great progress on her goals of ending the world-wide hatred of Coordinators.

She looked out the window of her room, her eyes landing on the capital of the nation. The American Flag waved proudly, as if welcoming her home.

The President smiled a bit at the sight, but she knew that her work was far from done.

She had yet to accomplish what countless people had failed in, and that was going to be her biggest task yet…

* * *

_Pentagon_

Keller looked out the window as he observed the flag at its full height. Today was a day when it was at normal flying height. He could recall days when the flag was often flown at half-mast. Even if today was not one of those days, he could recall the days that it did as if they were just yesterday.

The most recent was in September on the 11th. It had been a day of sad memories, when lives had been lost for no reason. And soon, it would be the three year anniversary of the Junius Seven attack.

The lives lost on that colony brought tears to Keller's eyes as he recalled seeing that flash of light. The missile had been unkind to the people living out their lives normally. And it was all the result of Blue Cosmos, the ones behind it.

When had the Coordinators done anything wrong to deserve the hatred that they received? It did not make sense to him, to just attack someone for being different.

Keller just hung his head as tears fell down his face. No one deserved to die that day… No one deserved that fate, even if Blue Cosmos said they did.

Deep down inside, he was afraid of what would happen if the group managed to take out the president and the rest of the Washington leadership. Everyone in the upper leadership was, even him.

Even he was afraid…

* * *

_Air Force One_

President Hilson sat in the bedroom of Air Force One, looking out the window at her home. She could recall a life that she had once had, one that had her family being alive.

Closing her eyes, she felt the tears roll down her face. Even now it hurt…

The president hung her head, her fears of being found out coming forth. She was afraid of what Blue Cosmos would do if they realized that she was really Mackenzie Samantha Allen, the last member of the Allen family.

Her close friends had vanished from her life, and she had started anew, but she felt she had betrayed them by changing who she was. But it had all been for survival right?

Right?

Nothing seemed to be right and wrong anymore. There was no thin line, but that did not matter to her. After all, no one else could see the line…

Her home had been left empty. She was now gone from people's lives, the lives of her friends, and her own life.

It was rare that she had the opportunity to reflect like this, but she felt it was not good for her to do such a thing. It brought back too many memories she wanted to hide forever. Her past life she tried to run from, but no matter what, she could not.

Running was the only thing she had done, and it was the only thing that she knew. It was the only life that she had known for the past 20 years now. But when she had taken on that mission last war, she had not been running from her past to be exact. She had decided to face it in order to take out the man in charge of the group responsible for her family's deaths. But still…she had taken on a false name and identity to hide herself from Blue Cosmos. So she had been running even then…

Why did she run from her past when she did not have to? Why did she flee from her family's legacy when it was one of greatness? She was not brave… In fact, she was a coward for running from her past.

Everyone called her brave for taking on such a dangerous mission. But compared to facing her past, that had been nothing. Even her time in special ops seemed tame in comparison to what she had to face on a daily basis.

Why did it always have to be so hard to run from her past? Why couldn't she just have a normal life where she did not have to run for her life on a daily basis?

She looked over her scars on her body, wondering why she had to survive when her family did not. It made her feel lost, like she was searching for her family, unable to find them. She wanted to see them again, but they had been claimed from her.

President Hilson could only look back at the flying American flag before leaving the cabin. She had a job to do…

* * *

The war begins with the theft of five new machines. But while the theft is an act of war, what does NASA plan to do? Two new ships launch, but what will happen with this battle? Read on to find out~! :3

Anyway, you all know this, but I will put it anyway. Constructive criticism is appreciated as are reviews. Flames, AKA, hate-filled/spamming reviews, **_WILL_** be reported and/or deleted depending on if they are signed or not.

Anyway, read and review! ^^


	43. Phase 3: Warning Shots

**New chapter is up is up! Note: I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Ian, Saul, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, Treize Zabiarov, Gyunei Ridden, Reccoa Schnieder, or the machines listed for the remaining members of the Le Creuset team, as they are Akatsuki_Leader13's and are used with his permission as such. I also do not own Xander Alexis, as he belongs to Mordalfus Grae. Nor do I own Matrin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Tao White, Akira, Nishikama, Nisha and Taikyu Itsuno, Preisdent Marie Hilson, Gai Tatsuni, NASA/NAZAFT, the Presidential Murasame, the Raptor, the Dax, Wing, Traverse, and Z.A.M. Gundams, and the colony of New Juneau.**

**KentLinuxStadfelt: The Specter is not based on the Surge. Sorry if you got that impression. ^^'**

**CT7567Rules: Life happens, so I didn't update when I should. ^^'**

**nbj- Inconsistent Guest: You obviously won't stick with a single guest name, so I will just call you '**inconsistent guest'** from now on.**

**Just a Crazy Man: You would be right. :3**

**A0930: I am glad you like Marie. :3 And all will be revealed as the story goes on. :3**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :3**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in and leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in and leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, then feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

* * *

_Cosmic Era 72. One and half years of grim war between Earth and PLANTs ended following the space battle at Jachin Due. The two sides forged a peace treaty amid the ruins of Junius Seven, a place of unprecedented tragedy during the war. The former enemies pledged themselves to work for mutual understanding and to make every effort possible to maintain peace. As a result, the world is once more on the path of stability._

* * *

Phase Three: Warning Shots

_The Minerva's Bridge_

"Pressurization normal. FCS, contact. All stations normal ma'am." Arthur said.

"Scan for the enemy and our machines." Talia ordered.

"Single unidentified ship at Indigo 53, Mark 22, Bravo. Distance: 150." the radar operator reported.

"That must be their mothership." Durandal commented.

"Input its data into the database. From now on, we'll refer to it as Bogey-1." Talia said.

"Ma'am! I've found the Impulse and the ZAKUs." Meyrin called out. "Sector 157, Mark 80, Alpha. They appear to be in a battle."

Talia turned to the girl. "Can you contact them?"

"Negative. Radio interference is too severe."

"How many opponents?"

"Just two. But one's a mobile armor while one is a mobile suit."

"Deploy the GuAIZs." Talia ordered. "Tell them to move to support the Impulse and the ZAKUs. And if need be, cover their withdrawal to the _Minerva_."

* * *

_"Captain Gladys has ordered you to launch and support the Impulse and the ZAKUs." _Meyrin said over the comm.

"Yeah. The Reds always get the glory while we Greens end up spilling our blood so they get their glory." Shawn added as his mobile suit was loaded on to the second catapult.

The three Green Coats laughed as the catapult doors opened.

"Shawn Anderson. GuAIZ R launching."

The first GuAIZ took off, heading for their comrades, quickly followed the remaining two. "Alright guys, let's go kick some ass." Dale said.

* * *

"The GuAIZs have been launched ma'am." Meyrin said.

Talia nodded. "We will engage Bogey-1. Lower the bridge."

The bridge started to drop down, where it would shielded behind the armor of the ship's hull. "Maintain course Indigo Delta. Accelerate twenty percent." she ordered. "Prepare to fire signal flares and anti-beam depth-charges." Talia turned to her XO. "Arthur, what are you waiting for?!"

Her voice knocked Arthur out of his daze. "Ah... yes ma'am." he said, heading for his console. He quickly sat down, his fingers dancing across the console. "Launcher Eight. Load missile tubes 1 through 4 with Neidhart missiles. Activate Tristans 1 and 2. Activate Isolde. Target: Bogey-1."

* * *

Neo pressed his attack, his gunbarrels firing on the three machines, Wing Zero, the Impulse and the ZAKU. The ZAFT pilots struggled to evade the beams coming from seemingly everywhere. Shinn twisted, narrowly avoiding a barrage of beams. But a single beam grazed the Impulse's ankle. Shinn cursed as he continued to struggle against the beams. "This guy's hitting us from everywhere."

_"Calm down Shinn."_ Rey said as he fired his rifle at a pod, but missed. _"If you lose your focus, he'll shoot you down."_

The new machine, one that Rey could not identify, fired on the mobile armor, forcing it back.

Shinn then fired on the newcomer once more, forcing the pilot to fly back.

"Damn that guy!" Shinn swore.

* * *

On the _Minerva_, Captain Gladys looked at the new machine that was engaging the Impulse. "Prepare to fire on that new machine." She ordered.

"Wait!" Cagalli cried at that point, floating into the bridge with her father and their two attendants. "That is not the enemy! That's Wing Zero!"

The mere name got everyone in the bridge to murmur in shock. "Wing Zero…" "The machine of the Berserker of JOSH-A?"

"Wing Zero? You mean that machine from the Battle of Jachin Due and the personal machine of the Berserker of JOSH-A?" Arthur asked in surprise.

"Yes!" Cagalli cried.

"And how do you know it is him?" Chairman Durandal asked.

Cagalli just looked back at the machine. "I know him. If anything, only one type of machine can last as long as it has without Phase Shift."

"I see. Then can you contact him?"

"Normally he monitors all channels. Just call out." Athrun replied.

Captain Gladys nodded. "Very well, then. Meyrin, open all communications channels."

Meyrin nodded. "Channels are open."

"Good. Would you do the honors, Lord Uzumi?" the chairman asked.

"Yes. Heero Yuy, this is Lord Uzumi. Can you hear me?" the man asked.

In a few seconds, Heero Yuy's face appeared on the screen. _"Roger that."_

"I thought for a moment my head injury got to me." Cagalli said as Heero looked at her.

_"No, I am very much alive."_ He replied. _"Requesting permission to come aboard."_

"Permission granted. Shinn, that machine is friendly. Do not fire any further."

* * *

Shinn could hardly believe what he was hearing, but he could not deny what his superior said.

Suddenly, Neo found himself under fire. Three GuAIZ Rs appeared, firing their beam rifles on the Exus. Neo expertly piloted his mobile armor through the beams. He glanced at the newcomers. Not only that, he saw the new ZAFT warship heading for the _Girty Lue_. "We don't want to lose what we already have by being too greedy." Neo commented as he recalled his gunbarrels.

Once his weapons had docked back onto the Exus, Neo took off, heading back to his ship. As he fled, the _Minerva_ fired off its signal flares, ordering the mobile suits to return. "Come on. Let's head back." Rey said.

Dale grunted. _"Figures. The second we get here and save your asses, we get recalled."_

_"Hey. We didn't need your help."_ Shinn shot back.

Shinn and Dale were not on the best of terms. The two had frequently butted heads at the Academy, and in one case, literally. Their graduation and assignment to the _Minerva_ hadn't changed things at all.

"Knock it off, both of you!" Rey yelled, stopping any possible fight in its tracks. "This isn't the time or the place to pick a fight, Dale. And we needed their help, so show a little gratitude Shinn. Unless of course, both of you would like to sit out the next couple of sorties. And I will tell the captain."

Both pilots grumbled.

"What was that?"

_"Thank you for your help."_ Shinn said with forced politeness.

_"Sorry for trying to pick a fight with you."_ Dale grunted.

"There. Now let's head back before the three of us start running out of power." he said, taking off for the _Minerva_.

As they traveled back to the _Minerva_, Shawn made a whip cracking sound over the comm. He, Dale, Tristan, and Shinn all started to fight back laughter. Even Rey struggled to fight back a chuckle.

Wing Zero also followed, having been given permission to dock with the ship.

* * *

The _Minerva_ fired its missiles at the _Girty Lue_. The Earth ship countered by taking an evasive maneuver and firing it's CIWS guns, taking out the missiles that the _Girty Lue_ couldn't evade. "Target its engines. Fire!" Talia ordered.

The _Minerva'_s Isolde triple cannon fired, narrowly missing the _Girty Lue_. A moment later, the Exus landed in the _Girty Lue_'s hanger. "Withdraw now Lee!" Neo shouted.

The _Girty Lue_ took off, heading away from the PLANTs. "Bogey-1 retreating ma'am." the Minerva's radar operator said. "Yellow 71, Alpha."

"What's the status of our machines?" Talia asked.

"They're returning now ma'am. Wing Zero is marked as friendly." Meyrin answered.

"Tell them to hurry. We need to continue pursing Bogey-1." the Captain said. "Set course heading: Yellow Alpha."

Aboard the _Girty Lue_, Neo entered the ship's bridge as the _Minerva_ fired its cannons at them. The ship shook from the force of the near impacts. "Captain! Enemy ship still approaching. Blue 0. Distance: 110." an officer reported.

"That ship is quite fast." Lee commented. "It could give us a lot of trouble."

The Minerva fired another spread of missile at them. "Incoming missiles!"

"Hard to port! Dodge it!" Lee ordered.

The ship turned to port, firing its CIWS, shooting down the missiles dangerously close to the ship. "Detach side propellant tanks! Prepare to detonate them!" Neo ordered. "Detach the whole arm assembly! Let them get a taste of that! Meanwhile, rise bow 35 degrees, port 10 degrees! Engines at maximum!"

The _Girty Lue_ rose to port, evading another barrage from the _Minerva_'s guns. As it moved, it detached its propellant tanks. The tanks floated back, towards the _Minerva_, surprising its crew. Save for Talia. She had an idea on what those were and wasn't going to take a chance. "Cease fire!" Talia shouted. "Starboard 10 degrees! Engines at maximum!"

The tanks neared the _Minerva_ when they exploded. Fortunately, they were far enough away and the _Minerva_'s hull was strong to safely weather the two explosions, though the ship shook violently from the force of the two explosions. "Burt! What's the position of the enemy ship?"

"Just a moment ma'am."

Activate CIWS. Fire anti-beam depth charges." Talia ordered.

"Found them! Red 88, Mark 6, Charlie! Distance: 500." the radar officer reported.

Arthur glanced back. "They got away?"

Talia scowled. "The nerve of them. Escaping like that."

"We seem to be facing a first-class unit." Durandal commented.

Talia turned her chair to face the Chairman. "All the more reason we cannot allow them to escape." she said. "We've passed the point where you can disembark, but I believe that we should continue our pursuit of that ship. What are your thoughts, Chairman?"

"Please. Do not concern yourself with me, Captain." he answered. "If we were to neglect these embers, imagine the inferno they could become. Frankly, the thought frightens me. It's our duty to recapture those machines, or failing that, destroy them."

Talia nodded her head. "Thank you." She turned to the radar operator. "Do we still have a trace on them?"

"Yes ma'am."

"In that case, this ship will now continue its pursuit of Bogey-1. Course Yellow Alpha. Engines at maximum."

* * *

Elsewhere, two men watched the distant flashes of the space battle from aboard the bridge of a ship. "Captain. Detecting two unidentified warships leaving ZAFT territory. One appears to be pursuing the other." an officer of the ship reported.

"It's seems that ZAFT has been attacked. Send word of this to Terminal." the first man said.

"Undoubtedly, the unidentified ship in pursuit of the other is a ZAFT ship.

"What of Lady Cagalli? Do think she has gotten involved in this?" the second man asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Knowing her, yes. We better set course for that ZAFT ship. And have the mobile suits prepped, just in case."

* * *

_The Girty Lue_

_A Short While Later_

"You idiot!" Treize shouted, slamming Auel against a wall. "You used Stella's block word without authorization."

"If I didn't, she wouldn't have stopped fighting that white one!" Auel yelled back.

Treize threw him to the ground and put his foot to Auel's throat. "Do something like that again, I'll be sending your head back home to your _mother_."

Auel started screaming and thrashing the instant he said the block word. Treize stepped off him as several of the doctors rushed to pick up Auel and take him to their lab. They carried him to their lab as he entered the lab for his generation of Extended. Reccoa and Gyunei were already there, replacing the drug cartridges of their implants.

Treize barely tolerated the other two. They weren't always on the best of terms, despite what he was told to do. Though they been in the same test group as they went through the Extended process. Most of his memories of that time were foggy, disjointed and unclear.

"Aw... If it isn't Trieze." Gyunei mocked.

"Shut up Gyunei, before I shall remove your tongue." Treize threatened.

"Like you could defeat me."

He despised Gyunei. He was an arrogant little punk. Gyunei believed that he was superior and should have been in command. Not him. He walked towards Gyunei, looming over the younger teen. In one shift motion, he grabbed Gyunei by the throat and slammed him on the ground. "How many times have we done this? Every time, you've lost Gyunei."

Gyunei grunted.

"Still you persist with this constant, pointless struggle to see who is superior. When the answer is and always has been the same." Treize said. "You will always be inferior to me. Like an animal grasping at the full moon, you will never reach me. No matter how desperately you grasp, I am beyond you."

Gyunei let out a snarl. "No! I am strongest Extended ever created! You are inferior to me!"

"03 Omega Red."

Just as with Auel, Gyunei started screaming and flailing around in agony. Treize turned to one of the doctors. "My drugs."

"Here you are." the man replied, handing him a cartridge.

Treize pulled off his shirt and replaced the near empty cartridge from his injector and replaced it with a fresh one. Without even glancing, he left the room, heading for his quarters to change into his uniform.

* * *

_Captain's Quarters_

_The Minerva_

_An Hour and a Half Later_

"Words cannot express my regret that you were caught up in these events. However, I would like you to please understand our situation." Chairman Durandal said.

Sitting across from him, Cagalli nodded. Her two attendants and father were standing at her side. "Have you been able to find anything about that enemy unit?" she asked.

"Actually we haven't." Gilbert admitted. "Nor do we have any leads on the carrier ship as well, which is why we must take control of the situation as soon as possible. Before it become irreversible."

"Yes, I understand. That goes without saying, Chairman Durandal. Right now we can't do anything that would disrupt our fragile world." Cagalli said, bowing her head.

"Thank you Princess. I had believed that you would feel the same way." Durandal said before he stood up. "If you would like, please allow me to give you a tour of the ship."

"Chairman-"

Durandal waved Captain Gladys off. "It may be temporary, but they are putting their lives in our hands. I'm merely offering a gesture of good faith from our country to a sworn friend."

Suddenly, the room's intercom panel started to beep. Gladys pushed a button and Arthur's face voice came through. _"Captain! An_ Izumo_-class battleship is approaching."_

"What? What is an ORB warship doing out here?" she asked.

_"Unknown ma'am. They're hailing us."_

"Patch it through to this room."

The bridge of the Izumo class battleship appeared on the screen. _"Greetings. I am Captain Vincent Toth of the ORB Izumo-class ship, the _Susanoo_. We were pursuing a band of pirates that had been harassing ORB interests when we detected your battle. We are aware that Chief Representative Athha was visiting the PLANTs. We wish to know if you have any information on the whereabouts and wellbeing of our Chief Representative."_

"She, her father, and her attendants are-"

"Captain Toth!" Cagalli yelled, moving in front of the screen. "Why are you here?! I told the rest of the government that I would visit the PLANTs without any military escort."

_"With respect ma'am, Commander Alaric felt that there should be someone around just in case something happened."_

Cagalli let out an annoyed sigh. "Of course. Where is he?"

_"Currently, he's in the cockpit of his mobile suit."_

"Let me talk to him."

_"Yes ma'am."_

The screen changed. Now it displayed John Alaric, in his old black ZAFT flightsuit and his helmet on his lap, sitting in the cockpit of the Farsight II. _"Ma'am." _he said with a nod.

"I told that I didn't want any additional protection."

_"I know ma'am. But I felt that it was better to be safe than sorry."_ John said. _"And it looks like I was right. Now we can take you back-"_

"No. I'm staying."

_"Very well then. At the moment, it would be better if the _Susanoo_ did not accompany this vessel, as the Alliance would very displeased if they learned that ORB was lending military power to ZAFT."_ John said. _"However, I request that my team as well as Miss Allster's mobile suit, be transferred over to the ZAFT vessel as your bodyguards, Lady Cagalli. There will be little reason to complain about a small team being sent to protect the leader of our nation. Of course, I guarantee that my small team is a match for anyone on board that ship."_

"Wait. You're not talking about _them_?"

_"Of course."_

She sighed. "Fine, so long as they accept your assistance." Cagalli said, turning to the Chairman.

"I have no objections." Durandal said. "Any assistance that you prove would be greatly appreciated. Do you have any, Captain?"

"No. But allow my hanger crew some time to clear up some space for your mobile suits."

_"Alright then, prepare your hanger to receive five mobile suits."_ John said, closing the channel.

"Arthur." Talia said, switching the channel. "Inform the hanger that we're receiving five mobile suits from the ORB warship."

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

_The Susanoo's Mobile Suit Hanger_

"Alright. I'll launch first. Afterwards, launch the Strike Raven. I'll carry it to the ship. Then you guys launch." John said, putting his helmet on and powering up the Farsight.

The Farsight II stepped onto the catapult. "John Alaric, Farsight taking off."

The catapult launched the mobile suit into space. A few minutes later, the Strike Raven was loaded onto the catapult. "Launching the Strike Raven."

The mobile suit was launched and John caught it with ease. Then one by one, the three members of his team launched. Then the mobile suits took off for the _Minerva_.

* * *

_The Minerva's Hanger_

"Athha from ORB?"

Luna nodded. "Yeah. I was surprised too. What are the odds of meeting a big hero from the last war out here?"

Shinn didn't say anything. "What's wrong Shinn? Is it that ZAKU?" Luna asked, gesturing to the green ZAKU behind her.

"No. Nothing's wrong." Shinn replied. "I was just wondering who's ZAKU that is, since it's not one of the _Minerva_'s."

"It was her bodyguard. He said his name was Alex." Luna said before she leaned in close to him. "But, he might be Athrun. Athrun Zala. I heard her call him that in the heat of the moment." She glanced back at the ZAKU. "It would make sense. I heard he moved to ORB after the war."

It was at that moment that a new machine entered as well. Heero backed Wing Zero into a spot not too far off from the slot where Athrun's ZAKU was located. Luna stared at the machine that had entered the hanger.

Was it really him?

"What is with that new machine?" Luna asked.

"I have no idea." Rey replied. "But it does not look like a normal machine, as it is not losing its coloring."

"Yeah. But why?"

"Well, if I recall correctly, only one machine does not lose its coloring."

Luna gasped. "Wait. Are you saying that that machine is Wing Zero?!"

"It could be possible." Rey replied.

_"The first two mobile suits are in Catapult 2. Pressurizing airlock now."_ a voice said over the hanger intercom.

Moments later, the doors to the catapult opened and the Farsight, carrying the Strike Raven in front of it, entered the hanger.

"That's...That's Farsight! John Alaric's mobile suit!" Lunamaria said, her eyes filled with shock and excitement. "The legendary Black Hawk! I never thought I'd actually get to meet him!"

"A third mobile suit has entered Catapult 3. Pressurizing airlock now."

"I wonder if the next mobile suit belongs to the Desert Tiger." Lunamaria said. "Wouldn't that be amazing, Shinn? Fighting alongside legendary aces such as the Black Hawk, the Desert Tiger and the Berserker of JOSH-A?"

"I don't know." Shinn said. "Does it really matter?"

The airlock door opened, revealing...

...the GAT-X252 Forbidden.

Shinn's face immediately changed from indifference to shock.

"Whoa..." Lunamaria said. "I've never seen a mobile suit like that before. It must be a new model."

Lunamaria pushed off her ZAKU, heading for the Farsight.

Unlike Lunamaria, Shinn had seen that mobile suit before. It was one of the mobile suits that had ravaged ORB when the Earth Forces invaded. To his horror, the Forbidden was soon joined by two of its cohorts, the GAT-X131 Calamity and GAT -X151 Massacre. To Shinn, those mobile suits were the embodiments of death: the Forbidden, slicing through waves of people with its monstrous scythe, Massacre striking from the air like a wicked predator upon the defenseless, the Calamity, spewing fiery death from its many cannons upon the innocent. By the time the three mobile suits had been secured and their pilots exited the cockpits, the shock had worn off and Shina was angry...No. Furious! What the hell was ORB doing with those monstrous machines?!

Shinn pushed off Lunamaria's ZAKU and headed towards the pilot of Wing Zero. He would deal with those other pilots later.

Elsewhere, John climbed out of his mobile suit and reached the hanger floor. Luna was there to greet him. She saluted him and John returned the salute. "Commander John Alaric of ORB."

"Lunamaria Hawke. Commander Alaric, it's an honor to meet a living legend like yourself. I hope you don't mind if I ask you for your autograph."

John chuckled. "A living legend? I don't know about that. But I will give you an autograph later." he replied. "Now, who is the commander of this ship's mobile suit complement?"

"At the moment, no one." Luna answered.

"Then we have much to discuss before the next sortie."

"I imagine we do, including choosing a new commander."

Heero then floated down, making Luna gasp with awe. "It's really him. It's the Berserker of JOSH-A!"

The Natural looked back in their direction, making Luna blush.

"Good to see you Heero." John said as he put a hand on Heero's shoulder. "Where have you been for the past two years?"

"Everywhere." He replied flatly.

"What's so great about him?" Shinn asked as he reached the two.

"Shinn, Heero is the Berserker of JOSH-A! He wiped out a _Cyclops System_ for crying out loud!" Luna replied.

Shinn just looked away and left, heading towards the pilots of the other three machines. Even Heero did not deserve his rage after all…

* * *

"What the hell is ORB doing with those machines?!" Shinn shouted as he reached the trio. "And what the hell are ORB pilots doing in these machines?! Don't you know what these things have done?!"

"What the hell are you yelling about?" the first pilot said, taking off his helmet, revealing his olive green hair and blue eyes. "We've had these machines since they were built."

Shinn froze for a moment, realizing what he just said. "YOU BASTARDS!" Shinn screamed as he grabbed the pilot's black and light blue flightsuit. "IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU THAT MY MOM IS DEAD!"

"What the hell?! Let go of me!" Orga shouted just before Shinn punched his face.

"Hey buddy, if you wanna fight, then you got it!" Martin said, grabbing Shinn in a headlock.

Shinn elbowed him in the gut a couple of times, causing him to let go. Orga punched Shinn in the gut, knocking back Shinn. Then Shani tackled Shinn and punched him in the face. But at that moment, a couple members of the hanger crews rushed to help Shinn. One grabbed Shani from behind, pinning his arms. Shani head-butted the man, which caused him to break his nose and lose his grip. Another crew member lunged at Martin with a metal hand tool. The grey haired pilot caught the man's arm and in one quick motion, knocked the makeshift weapon from his hand.

"Shani! Martin! Orga! That's enough!" John Alaric shouted.

"Hey! Don't yell at us! This kid started it!" Martin said, gesturing at Shinn.

John turned to Shinn. "Well?"

"How can ORB just let these bastards live after all they did?!" Shinn demanded. "After all the people they killed?!"

"Jeez kid, do you only come in loud and louder?" John said, rubbing an ear.

Shinn scowled at him. "Alright, alright. Stop with the death glare. It's a rather long story. The short version is, they have no other purpose but to pilot these machines. So when we captured them, we rehabilitated them and put them to use for ORB. To redeem themselves of at least some of the pain and destruction they brought to ORB. As well as the pain and suffering they endured." John said. "They're harmless unless provoked. Most of the time."

"There is no way they can repay what they've done." Shinn shot back.

John stared at him for a moment. "You're from ORB, aren't you?"

"What if I am?"

"Nothing." John answered. "It really doesn't matter. Now if you excuse us, I need some coffee. Shani, Martin, Orga, come on, we're leaving. Miss Luna, if you'd be so kind as to find me once you are done with your duties, we have a lot to discuss with your captain."

The four took off, leaving the hanger. Shinn stood there, squeezing his fists to the point that his fingers cut into his palms, drawing blood. "Shinn, I don't know what your problem is with those guys." Rey said. "But if you wish to keep on piloting, I suggest you stow it."

Shinn glared at him. "Fine. Happy now?"

"Yes."

Rey glanced back at the Wing Zero, wondering if it really _was_ the real deal.

* * *

_Elsewhere_

The elevator doors opened and Chairman Durandal, Cagalli, Rey, Lord Uzumi and Athrun exited while Flay stayed behind. Durandal turned around. "Are you not coming, Miss Allster?"

"No. I just want to check over my machine." Flay answered.

"Very well then. If you need a hand, don't be afraid to ask someone for help."

Flay bowed. "Thank you." she said before hitting the down button on the panel.

Durandal cleared his throat as he moved towards the edge of the catwalk overlooking the hanger. "The ZGMF-1000 ZAKU. As you are already aware, it's currently the backbone of ZAFT's mobile suit forces." he explained. "And then we have the Minerva's most distinguishing feature, the ZGMF-X56S Impulse and its launching system. According to our engineers, this is the newest, most efficient mobile suit system. Although personally, I don't quite understand such technical matters." He paused, taking note of Cagalli's expression. "I take it that you don't much care for it, Princess."

"Well, you certainly seem happy about it, Chairman." she replied.

"Happy isn't the word I would use. My feelings stem from the thought of how hard everyone has worked. To come so far from such chaos and to gain such strength."

"Such strength. You said strength was necessary because there would always be conflict." Lord Uzumi noted.

"Yes."

"Then how do you rationalize what's happen?" Cagalli asked. "The damage your country and its people have suffered is due to the presence of those new mobile suits."

"So then you are saying that we should not seek to acquire power?"

"Why is it necessary in the first place? Especially now!" Cagalli said. "We swore not to repeat the tragedies of the past. We were committed to a path that we could all walk together!"

"True Princess. But-"

"Making excuses has been a specialty of the Earth Forces!" a voice called out, interrupting the Chairman.

Everyone turned to source of the voice. "Shinn." Rey said, jumping down to hanger.

Shinn glanced over his shoulder, glancing at Cagalli but not glaring at her. Rather his eyes were filled with disappointment more than anything. But before anyone could say anything, alarms went off.

* * *

_Crew Lounge_

Shani, Martin and Orga were off in their own little worlds, relaxing. Orga was laid out on a couch, reading his latest paperback novel. Martin was sitting on chair, reading his newest book as well. And Shani was also sitting, listening to his music, his head bobbing up and down with the music. John was leaning on a wall as he attempted to drink the crap in a can they called coffee.

John took a sip and winced. _'You'd think that with all they've put into this new warship, they'd be able to stock it with some decent coffee.'_

Meyrin entered the lounge. "Oh. You must be the pilots from the ORB ship that transferred over." she said. "I'm Meyrin Hawke."

Only John acknowledged her. Shani, Martin and Orga remained oblivious to the girl. "Hawke?" John said with a chuckle. "Well Miss Hawke, I'm the Black Hawk. John Alaric. You'll have to forgive Shani, Martin, and Orga. They're not exactly the most sociable of people."

Meyrin took note of their clothes. John wore an ORB uniform with a black, leather trenchcoat over top. The others however, where a bit different. The one reading the book wore an ORB uniform without any sleeves and dark shirt underneath the uniform. The grey head's uniform was open and its sleeves had been trimmed. Making it look like a short sleeved vest over a red t-shirt. The last one had ripped knees on his pants and his coat was open, revealing an orange t-shirt underneath. It was odd seeing soldiers wearing uniforms that clearly violated military regulations.

"Hello John...Wait…The Black Hawk?! You're the Black Hawk?!"

"Yes. Do you want my autograph as well?"

"No. My sister's a big fan though." she said.

"Lunamaria? I know. The second I set foot on the ship, she asked for my autograph."

"Sorry about that."

John waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. Though it's not-"

_"Enemy ship sighted. Distance: 8000."_ a voice over the intercom interrupted.

* * *

_"Enemy ship sighted. Distance: 8000. Condition Red. All hands to your stations. All pilots are to stand by in their units."_

Tristan cursed as he threw his cards on the table. "Is this going to happen every time I'm winning?"

"Looks like." Dale said, standing up. "Guess you're just unlucky that way."

"Come on. We got to get to our machines." Shawn said. "Can't let the Reds and those pilots from ORB get all the action."

"Knowing our luck, we'll be the last to deploy and stuck supporting the Minerva." Dale added as they headed to the hanger.

* * *

_The Minerva's Hanger_

_A Short While Later_

All of the mobile suit pilots had quickly suited up and boarded their machines. John looked around at their force of mobile suits. Hopefully, it'd be enough to deal with the stolen prototypes and whatever else Bogey-1 had. _"Commander Alaric."_ Captain Glayds said, coming on the screen. _"I'm going to temporarily relinquish command of the mobile suit team to you. If you're okay with it."_

_"Hey! He's not a ZAFT Commander anymore. Why should he be in command?"_ Shinn argued.

"I would believe it's because I have the most experience here. I have fought more battles than anyone else here. In fact, I believe that the Academy still teaches some of my tactics. So, why wouldn't I be in command? Are you really that uncomfortable with me in command? Or is that you're uncomfortable with the fact that you'll be fighting alongside those three?"

Shinn didn't reply.

"Now, Rey, you and the other ZAKUs will remain behind with the Minerva and protect it should they try to ambush it as we engage the enemy ship."

Rey nodded. _"Roger."_

"Shani, Martin, Orga, Flay, Heero, the GuAIZ team, and you, Mr. Anger Issues, will come with me. We'll head out and hunt down the warship. Shani, Martin and Orga will take point and I'll take the rear. As for Heero, he will take center."

_"I thought Commanders were supposed to _lead_ their forces into battle, not bring up the rear."_

"True. But let me point this out. The Massacre, the Calamity, and the Forbidden all have Trans Phase Armor, which can take more of a pounding than any of the other machines here aside from Wing Zero. So why not have them go up front? Don't you want them to die anyway? As to why I'm in the rear, it's because it would be better that I function as a sniper in this battle. As there's a lot of debris out there that they can hide behind and ambush us with. So I'm going to try to spot them before they can ambush us. As for our latest guest, he will be involved as well. So shut up and get ready. They're waiting for us. They'll likely doing to try to cut us off from the _Minerva_."

_"How can you be so sure?"_

"Because, if I was their Commander, I would draw the bulk of the mobile suits from the Minerva, and then attack. The question is, who will they target, us or the _Minerva_?"

The Strike Raven and the Farsight were loaded on to the catapults. "John Alaric. Farsight launching."

"Flay Allster. Strike Raven, taking off."

The two mobile suits were launched into space as the Calamity and the Massacre were loaded into position. John opened a private channel to the Calamity, the Forbidden and the Massacre. "Hey, you guys ready for this? It's been quite some time since you've fought in combat."

_"Yeah yeah. We're ready."_ Orga said.

Martin nodded. _"Yeah. Let's kick some ass!"_

Shani just grunted.

"What about you, Flay? This is your first time in combat."

_"No it's not."_ Flay replied as the next two mobile suits launched.

"Right. First time in combat, in a mobile suit."

_"I'll be fine. You taught me well."_

John chuckled as the remaining mobile suits launched. "If only he could see you now. You've come a long way from that little girl."

At that moment, the Impulse's Core Splendor was launched, followed by the Blast Silhouette, the Chest Flyer and Leg Flyer. The four components assembled, creating the Blast Impulse.

Finally, the machine that resembled Wing Zero launched as well.

"Alright everyone, listen up." John said to the assembled pilots. "Bogey-1 has entered the Debris Field. There are places to hide in there. Also, they know we are after them and they will set a trap for us. So keep your guard up and your fingers on the trigger. Good luck out there."

* * *

_The Minerva's Bridge_

Durandal, Cagalli, Lord Uzumi, and Athrun stepped onto the bridge. Talia glanced over her shoulder at the group. "Chairman?"

"Ah Captain. Can I ask a favor of you? I would like to have our guests from ORB on bridge as well. Will you allow it?"

"Ah... But that's-"

"As you know, the Representative commanded a ship in the last war and has fought in many battles." Durandal explained. "I would like to have her perspective of our combat methods."

"I understand. If that's how you feel Chairman." Talia said.

"Thank you Talia."

The three took their seats. "Distance to target: 6000." an officer reported.

"Lower the brigde." Talia ordered. "Prepare for anti-ship and anti-mobile suit combat."

The bridge dropped down into combat position. "Ma'am. The Impulse, the GuAIZs and ORB mobile suits have launched and moving to intercept Bogey-1. Rey and Luna are remaining on board for defense." Meyrin said.

"Bogey-1. I wonder what the real name of that ship is." Durandal mused. "A name reflects its owner's nature. But what if the name is really a fake? If something goes by a false name, does that mean it is fake as well? False by nature? It that, what it would mean?" He turned to Athrun. "Alex? Or is it Athrun Zala?"

* * *

_Battle zone_

Heero Yuy glanced about as he observed the other machines he was with. This was going to be a close battle, but he had a feeling that he would be able to handle it.

It was not normal for him to be so out of the picture, but given what was going on, there was no real chance for him to speak up, or even say anything at all. Still, that was to be expected. Another war _was_ starting, after all.

Wing Zero's eyes flashed. "I know Zero. But this time we aren't going to sit back like we did so many times in the past, even if we were just defending the _Archangel_."

This was not going to be easy…

* * *

The invisible ship made its way over to the battle zone, just as the combat began.

Akira was now in his pilot suit, preparing to take off in the Wing Gundam. "All systems are green." He murmured as the catapult opened for the first time.

"Akira Nishikama, Wing, Launching!" he cried as the machine exited the ship.

Tao was next, her machine prepared for combat as well.

"Tao White, Diver, Launching!"

The new ship was to see combat for the first time…

* * *

_United States Naval Base, Norfolk_

The aircraft carrier _USS Bill Clinton_ made its way out of the naval base, a new weapon on its top deck. The planes were a grey color and were sleek in appearance. A cockpit was located over the nose area, but that was just the beginning. The new planes were similar to the old F-22s of the A.D. Era, but they were much different as well.

Once a decent distance from the mainland, the carrier's crew launched one of the F-22 Raptors, only for it to spin around and turn into their newest Mobile Suit, the NAS-X111-A Raptor. Despite appearing as a normal MS, the new machine was actually stealth based, as the form allowed for the smallest radar signature as possible instead of outright disappearing.

The pilot flew around, taking out the "Musket" beam rifle and firing on several automated target drones. Each drone blew up upon contact with the beam, for a total of ten shots out of eleven. 90% accuracy. Many on the carrier, including the machine's designer, were stunned and in awe at the power of the new machine.

"So far so good…" the captain of the carrier said as she looked over the data coming in. Things were working in accordance with the design so far. "How is the reactor holding up?"

"Nuclear reactor is in the green. No problems have been detected so far." An engineer replied.

"Good. Let's just hope it stays that way."

The new Raptor was designed so that the cockpit could be ejected and the pilot could escape using an ejector seat, an old concept that had been used back in the A.D. Era, one that had had high survival rates.

Her eyes flicked over to the designer. "So, has it worked to expectations so far?"

The designer nodded. "Yes, but the only way to really test it is to use it in combat." The designer, James Jackson, replied.

The captain just looked back at the new machine. "So I have heard." She replied.

Jackson just looked up again at his newest machine. "We needed a machine that would be capable of aerial attacks on the Earth Forces as well as on ZAFT. And this is what we came up with, following the find of the F-22 data of course. But we did not stop there. We also came up with a mass-produced version of the Diver following Commander White's defection from ZAFT. That will come in handy against ZAFT and the EA as well due to its underwater capabilities."

The captain nodded. "I heard that. The idea sounds good in both practice and on paper. And it was sorely needed." She mused as she reflected on the larger loss of life following the Invasion of NASA. Many U.S., Mexican, and Canadian soldiers had lost their lives that day, with more dying from injuries sustained afterwards. It was the largest loss of life they had seen since the C.E. Era began.

"Our defense comes first, and the defense of the PLANTs comes second." She said as the Raptor flew overhead.

"Flight Speed: Mach 2.2. That's excellent!" the engineer exclaimed as he read off the data. "All weapons are functional!"

Flares were fired, making the pilot bank to the left to avoid the simulated enemies.

"Radar signature, unnoticed! Evasion time, high!"

The pilot then flew down and unleashed a missile at an old ship that was barely afloat. The target was hit in one strike.

"All missile guidance systems are functional!"

The next ship was sliced into thirds with the twin beam sabers. All of them sank.

"All beam saber settings and systems are green!"

The Raptor then turned to its flight mode and flew around as more drones were released. The pilot firing the CIWS, the drones fell into the ocean.

"CIWS, wing mounted, works as expected. All parameters are normal!"

Everything had worked so far, but they really had to test it yet. There was no real way to seriously test the new machine unless it was under real stress, and that they needed to do.

"We need to test the Raptor under stress, but that is going to be next to impossible considering that we are at peace right now." Jackson said as he looked over at the now incoming machine.

But soon, the Raptor would make its big debut in the course of what was to come…

The cruiser next to the carrier had launched its own testing unit, the NAS-X112-A Dax. The single pilot machine was currently under the water, zooming around the probes that were designed to emit false enemy readouts. If anything, the Dax's true weapon was in its speed.

"Speed readout, 40 knots! Underwater!" a crewman exclaimed as he looked over the data. That was 5 knots faster than expected!

The cruiser's captain nodded. "Very good. If anything, that's much better than we had hoped." He said as he looked back at the data reader.

Under the water, the Dax unleashed three torpedoes that took out three probes.

"Torpedo launch, three hits. Heat-readers worked as predicted." The data reader said as he glanced over the incoming test data.

A sigh came from the captain as he leaned back in his chair. "Testing two new units isn't all that interesting, but it sure beats going on patrol when there is no action." He said as he looked back at the underwater image of the Dax, now in its mobile suit form.

* * *

_Pentagon_

Keller looked out the window, the flag flying above the nation's capital. The red and white stood out against the sky, the dark blue and white reflecting in the light as well. 51 stars were on the field of blue, the newest one belonging to a PLANT colony that was now a state.

New Juneau was that very PLANT. He sighed, wondering why the Coordinators were often called the 'inhuman space monsters' when they weren't.

The mere fact that people hated them made him wonder why Coordinators had to endure such hateful feelings. He was afraid for his Coordinator children that he himself had. He was afraid of what people would do to them if they found out he had such children. That was what the people of the president's administration had to hide. Each member had a Coordinator child, or Coordinator family members. Well, all except the president that is…her family was lost due to their actions for Coordinator rights. It was ironic. She had no Coordinator family members, nor had any Coordinator children, yet the rest of the administration to hide the fact that they did.

The Defense Secretary could understand why the president had requested such a thing, but at the same time, he wondered why she had made such a request. Keller and the rest of the administration were afraid of what Blue Cosmos would do.

Lives would be lost, all for merely existing. Families would be torn apart, and murdered for merely living out their lives.

The U.S. was far from perfect, but they all had a reason for going on with their lives. They refused to be ruled by Blue Cosmos/LOGOs. That was their main reason for still going on with their lives. True, they also had to do so for their Coordinator citizens, but it was for their own survival that the nation refused to bow down to the terrorist group.

If they did, then who knew what would happen?

But, unlike the rest of the world, the U.S. was willing to face being criticized for their actions if it meant standing by their ideals. The ideals that had made them famous in the past, and even now, made them famous, or infamous in this case.

The U.S. was often called the nation of traitors by Blue Cosmos/LOGOs, and called the Coordinator's Paradise by ZAFT. But it was neither. The nation was imperfect in the arena of Coordinator rights, but it was better than other alliances like the AEU at least, right?

Right?

Keller sighed again as he recalled his children. The rights they now had were not recognized in the AEU and other alliances like them, and it made him wonder if the U.S. was really alone amongst the world powers in supporting Coordinator rights. True, ORB was with them along the same lines of thinking, but the small nation was not a world power. They did not even have the military might to take on the Earth Forces and win.

The only nation and alliance that did was the U.S. and NASA. Canada and Mexico were considered world powers as well, but not at the level of the U.S. That was what made being an American citizen so hard. The American people were facing a threat that could only be faced down as a truly united planet, and they were doing it alone…

But what made it so hard was the fact that the old group that had once run the planet was no longer providing help on the international level. The alliance of NASA was on its own.

If there was no international help, then NASA had no chance of overcoming the terrorist group that now had the world in its grip. Even with the nation of Japan helping out, it was still only four nations against the world, five if ORB was included.

Five nations against the Earth Forces, which were far more numerous than the five nations' militaries combined. The only group that was capable of defeating such a powerful force was now neutral, and he knew it.

It was hard to accept, but NASA was on its own, even with ORB and Japan helping out…

Why did things have to be the way they were?

Keller could only hope that the world learned from its mistakes and came to its senses soon.

Otherwise NASA would not stand a chance…

* * *

The battle picks up as the thieves escape, but more issues loom on the horizon. All the while, NASA tests new units and prepares for what could be a new war. What happens next? Read on to find out~! :3

Anyway, you all know this, but I will put it anyway. Constructive criticism is appreciated as are reviews. Flames, AKA, hate-filled/spamming reviews, **_WILL_** be reported and/or deleted depending on if they are signed or not.

Anyway, read and review! ^^


	44. Phase 4: Stardust Battlefield

**New chapter is up is up! Note: I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Ian, Saul, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, Treize Zabiarov, Gyunei Ridden, Reccoa Schnieder, or the machines listed for the remaining members of the Le Creuset team, as they are Akatsuki_Leader13's and are used with his permission as such. I also do not own Xander Alexis, as he belongs to Mordalfus Grae. Nor do I own Matrin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Tao White, Akira, Nishikama, Nisha and Taikyu Itsuno, Preisdent Marie Hilson, Gai Tatsuni, NASA/NAZAFT, the Presidential Murasame, the Raptor, the Dax, Wing, Traverse, and Z.A.M. Gundams, and the colony of New Juneau.**

**jmwilshaw1205: So glad to have a new reader~! :D I am glad you like my story so much! :3 As for new characters, I may, but that will come much later, once the first three arcs are complete. :3**

**CT7567Rules: I went with the F-22 and names the 'Musket' rifle that because that is what the Americans used in the Revolution in 1776. :3 So a bit of an honor to that time. :3**

**nbj- Inconsistent Guest: You obviously won't stick with a single guest name, so I will just call you '**inconsistent guest'** from now on.**

**Just a Crazy Man: You would be right. :3**

**A0930: Heero disappeared after the end of the first war and no one knew where he went. Some assumed he was dead, others just assumed he was not even real. That is why some assume Heero is a fake. ^^'**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :3**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in and leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in and leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, then feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

* * *

_Cosmic Era 72. One and half years of grim war between Earth and PLANTs ended following the space battle at Jachin Due. The two sides forged a peace treaty amid the ruins of Junius Seven. A place of unprecedented tragedy during the war. The former enemies pledged themselves to work for mutual understanding and to make every effort possible to maintain peace. As a result, the world once more on the path of stability._

* * *

Phase Four: Stardust Battlefield

_The Debris Field_

The Specter, the Abyss, the Gaia, the Chaos and the Z.A.M. Gundam, took up positions amongst the debris. The Blu Duel, Verde Buster and Rosso Aegis were staying behind with the _Girty Lue_ to ambush the ZAFT ship. The _Girty Lue_ had also deployed a decoy that would lure them to their position and leave them unaware of the trap they were walking into. Treize, in an ideal sniper spot, took aim at the advancing ZAFT mobile suits. He had the hanger crew of the _Girty Lue_ temporarily replace the Specter's cannon with a beam sniper rifle. A weapon better suited to picking off mobile suits from a distance than the cannon. In addition to the rifle, he had changed the colors of the Specter's phase shift to something much more suitable. When he spotted the group, he was surprised by what he saw.

"The Calamity, the Forbidden and the Massacre are amongst the ZAFT forces." Treize said.

_"What?! Is it them?!"_ Sting asked.

"Unlikely. They would have died long ago with their drugs. Either way, watch out." Treize ordered, taking aim at the group. "Don't attack until I fire."

* * *

_The Bridge of the Minerva_

"Bogey-1. I wonder what the real name of that ship is." Durandal mused. "A name reflects its owner's nature. But what if the name is really a fake? If something goes by a false name, does that mean that thing is fake? False by nature? It that what it would mean?" He turned to Athrun. "Alex? Or is it Athrun Zala?"

Everyone else on the bridge gasped. Athrun Zala? The son of former Defense Council Chairman Patrick Zala. A hero of the Bloody Valentine War. Cagalli scowled at the Chairman as orders were being given on the bridge. "Chairman Durandal, that's-"

"There's no need to worry, Representative Athha." Durandal assured. "I did not mean to accuse him of anything. I'm already fully aware of the actions taken by my predecessor, Eileen Canaver, against you and the others. However, if we are to talk, I'd like to talk with the real you, Athrun Zala."

"Mobile suits 1400 to Bogey-1." Burt reported.

"Has Bogey-1 made any sudden movements? Any changes in their bearings?" Talia asked.

The operator shook her head. "No ma'am. They're still traveling on the same course."

"What's going on here? Do they have something planned?" the Captain said aloud.

An instant later, both she and Athrun realized it. "It's a decoy!" the two shouted together.

* * *

John scanned the debris in front of them. He couldn't see anything yet. But he didn't doubt that they were out there. He glanced at his radar. They were nearing the unidentified battleship. They'd probably be able to see it soon.

There was nothing to indicate that they had spotted them yet, which wasn't uncommon in the Debris Field. Both pirates and his former forces had used the Field for ambushes because one could easily hide out here. They easily could be preparing an ambush for them. He kept his eyes on the area around them, searching for anything. Any sign of danger. Suddenly, he saw it. A flash. "Sniper! Scatter!"

Treize grinned. "For the preservation of our blue and pure world!" Treize roared as he fired.

The group scattered. Avoiding the first two beams, but the third tore through Dale's GuAIZ R, destroying the machine. "Dale! No!" Tristan shouted.

At that moment, the Gaia, the Abyss, the Chaos and the Z.A.M. Gundam emerged from their hiding spots, firing on the remaining pilots while the sniper continued to fire. "Damn!" John swore. "We walked right into this." One of Treize's beams narrowly missed the Farsight. "Oh? You think that you're a better shot than me?" John said, taking aim at the area were the sniper was firing at. "There's a reason why this mobile suit is armed with a sniper rifle!"

Treize noticed the black and white mobile suit taking aim at the area he was in. There was no way it could accurately hit him at this distance. The mobile suit fired and to Treize's surprise, the beam was heading straight for him. Treize dove out of the way just in time. The beam struck a piece of debris behind here his mobile suit's head had been. "You wish to play, Coordinator? Fine, I'll play." Treize said, taking aim and firing at the enemy mobile suit.

The Chaos's pods launched and started firing on the Massacre, Forbidden, Wing Zero, and Calamity as the Abyss fired on the quad while the Gaia and Z.A.M. Gundam descended on the Impulse, the Strike Raven, and the GuAIZ Rs. Stella fired her rifle at the Strike Raven. Flay sidestepped the beams and fired back her beam rifle and railguns. The Gaia jumped back, firing as she flew back into wreckage of a colony. Flay chased after her. "Hold on." Tristan called out, chasing after her. "A lady shouldn't go into the unknown unescorted."

Flay nodded and the two dove into the wreckage.

The Z.A.M. Gundam fired both of its beam rifles at the Impulse, Gai laughing as he fired. "Come on! Let's dance Coordinator!"

The Impulse flew up, evading the beams while firing back with his cannons. The EA officer spun, allowing his machine to squeeze through in between the beams before firing the grenade of his left rifle. Shinn fired one of his railguns, piercing the grenade and the rifle. "Yes yes yes! Finally, an opponent I can wipe out! Gai cheered, drawing one of his beam blades. "Let's give them a real performance!"

"Gah! Tricky bastards!" Orga shouted, trying to destroy the Chaos's weapon pods.

Annoyed at his inability to hit the pods, Orga turned and fired his Schlag and Scylla cannons at the Chaos. The Chaos dove out of the path of the beams. The beams flew towards the Forbidden. But the beams bounced off of the Forbidden's shields and headed towards the Massacre and the Abyss. Martin instinctively dodged the beams while the Abyss barely managed to avoid the beams.

"Shani! You bastard! You almost hit me!" Martin shouted, firing his beam weapons at the Forbidden.

The Forbidden dodged the incoming shots. But the Chaos wasn't so lucky. The shots slammed into the Chaos, tossing it back. "Are these guys insane?!" exclaimed Sting as he righted the Chaos. "They're attacking each other!"

Shani roared as he swung his scythe at the Chaos. Sting raised his shield just in time. The shield was shredded by the scythe. Sting dropped the wrecked shield and drew a beam saber. "Crazy bastard!" Sting shouted, swinging the saber. "You're obsolete!"

Shani laughed as he continued to swing his scythe wildly at the Chaos, preventing Sting from getting close enough to hit the Forbidden. "Dammit! Take this!" Sting shouted, launching his pods again.

The pod's beams were again deflected by the Forbidden's deflector shields. But this was what Sting wanted. He moved in close to the Forbidden, intending to stab the Forbidden as it raised its pack up. Suddenly, the Massacre's beams slammed into the Chaos's back, knocking it downward. "Hmph. These punks aren't so tough." Martin commented as he pulled back his weapon.

"Treize! Where the hell is our covering fire?!" Sting shouted as he pulled himself up.

_"Didn't you just say those guys were obsolete?"_ Treize said as he continued his sniper duel with the Farsight only for Wing Zero to fire on him as well. _"You should be able to beat them with ease."_

Elsewhere, two machines and an unseen ship made their way into the battle zone.

The invisible ship opened fire on the _Girty Lue_, just missing the engines. The EA ship fired back, missing the unseen vessel. This made the _Minerva_ crew members stare in shock. Just what had happened there?

The two new machines, the Wing and Diver Gundams, opened fire on Sting, making him move back. "Gah! Now what?!" he growled.

* * *

_The Bridge of the Minerva_

"Captain! We've lost Bogey-1's signal!" exclaimed Burt.

"I've also lost the signal from Dale's unit!" Meyrin added. "Also four-no, six-heat signals at Yellow 60, Beta! It's the Specter, Chaos, Gaia, Abyss and one unknown!"

"Locate the enemy! Locate Bogey-1 immediately!" Talia ordered.

She was no fool. The Commander of Bogey-1 knew that they were following them and had left a decoy for them to follow. Undoubtedly, the real Bogey-1 was moving to ambush them while they were struggling to figure out what was going on.

Not to mention the new ship that was unseen out there as well as the appearance of the Wing and Diver Gundams…

* * *

_Aboard the Girty Lue_

Neo smirked. They had caught the ZAFT ship completely off guard. It was time to deliver the killing blow. He raised his hand. Captain Lee nodded. "Launch the mobile suits." the Captain ordered. "Start the engines and fire missile tubes Five through Eight. Target the enemy battleship with the Gottfrieds."

It did little to worry about the newcomers. Like they were a challenge anyway, being from the PLANTs and all… Still, he had to be wary.

"Deploy the old Daggers. We need to keep the new ship at bay."

* * *

"Heat signature detected at Blue 18 Mark 9, Charlie!" Burt turned to Talia. "It's Bogey-1. Distance: 500."

Arthur glanced back from his station. "What? But how?"

"Three mobile suits incoming as well!

"On screen." Talia ordered.

A trio of mobile suits appeared on the screen. Athrun's and Cagalli's eyes widened. "That's the Aegis, the Duel and the Buster..." a surprised Athrun said.

"Undoubtedly, new units based off the original GAT series units." Durandal commented.

"Captain! We're being targeted by Bogey-1!"

"Fire anti-beam depth charges! Turn 30 degrees to port! Target with the Tristan!" Talia said as Bogey-1 fired a spread of missiles.

"We can't, ma'am! Mobile suits at Orange 22, Delta." the radar operator reported.

Talia grit her teeth in frustration. "Engines to maximum. Go around the asteroid. Use it as a shield."

The helmsman turned the ship as hard as he could, practically _hugging_ the asteroid. The missiles hit the rock, the force of the explosions shaking the _Minerva_.

Talia turned to Meyrin. "Meyrin, order Shinn and the others to return to the ship at once." she ordered. "Prepare all remaining units for launch as well." Then she turned to helmsman. "Malik, continue to use the asteroid's surface to avoid further fire." Finally, she turned to her XO. "Arthur, prepare to return fire."

"Launcher Five, Launcher Ten; Dispars, fire!" Arthur said as the ship continued to shake from the missed shots of Bogey-1.

* * *

John swore as he searched for the Specter. He had lost sight of his opponent among the debris. He was better than this. He should have been able to keep his opponent in sight. Clearly, his skills had dulled more than he thought.

At that moment, a text message appeared on his console. The _Minerva_ was under attack, just as he thought. A two pronged attack. One force to draw out and engage their forces while the other force ambushes the _Minerva_. "Listen up everyone, the _Minerva_'s under attack." John said over the comm. "But we can't do anything to help them until we beat these guys. Stay focused on the enemy here. Not on the _Minerva_."

Elsewhere, Flay and Tristan slowly moved through a large corridor of the wrecked colony, searching for the Gaia. Directly ahead of them was a four-way intersection. The path on the right was gone, leaving nothing out in space. Both the left corridor and the corridor ahead of them were cast into darkness. _"I'll look left. You look right." _Tristan said.

Flay nodded. "Got it."

Both spun as they entered the center of the intersection, facing the side paths. Both quickly scanned the area before them, expecting an ambush. But there was nothing.

Suddenly, the glow of the Gaia's two beam blades lit up the hallway ahead of them. The Gaia, in its mobile armor mode, lunged forward. "Look out!" Flay shouted, diving out the hole.

At the same time, Tristan dove into the opposite corridor. Stella glanced at both directions for a moment before leaping out the hole after Flay. She transformed the Gaia back and fired her rifle.

Flay spun around, block her first few shots with her shield before returning fire with her rifle, railguns and machineguns. Stella dove down, evading her shots. Suddenly, Tristan appeared behind Stella with his beam saber drawn. Stella spun around, blocking the saber with her shield before she kicked the GuAIZ in the chest, following up with a stab to the cockpit.

The machine blew up, leaving Flay with the Gaia.

* * *

_Constitution_

Aisha watched as the Wing and Diver were forced back by some old Daggers of the Earth Alliance. It had been some time since she had seen those.

"Prepare to fire on the Daggers." She said as the guns targeted the new additions to the battle zone. "Prepare the Freedom's Light cannons."

The cannons, unseen due to the armor, turned and got a lock into a trio of Daggers. They fired, taking out the machines in a few shots.

Elsewhere, the Diver and Wing were engaged with a few Daggers as well.

Akira slashed one Dagger in half before turning to another, beam sabers at the ready. "Damn these guys! What have they been up to?"

_"Stay focused, Aki'."_ Tao replied. _"But I do find it strange that they would be here as well. Stay alert and complete the mission."_

The two went back to the battle, more than ready to help out the new ZAFT ship.

* * *

Xander grinned as he combined his rifles. Below him, the _Minerva_ traveled through a shallow canyon in the asteroid, desperately firing its weapons at him and his teammates. It was time for him to do what he did best. "Bang."

The Verde Buster's beam cannon, gun launcher, rifles and missiles fired. A few of the missiles impacted the ship's hull, but the rest of his shots missed, hitting the asteroid instead.

_"Bah. You missed them. Let me show you how it's done."_ Gyunei said, heading for the ship.

"Dispars, Neidharts, fire!" Talia shouted.

The _Minerva_'s missiles streaked towards the trio. Gyunei was forced to stop, so he could shoot down the missiles heading for him as his comrades did the same. "Wow! That was impressive." Xander mocked.

_"Shut up!"_

Talia grimaced as the three enemy mobile suits shot down or avoided the missiles. "We can't do anything as long as they've got our backside." she said to her helmsman. "Can we pull around?"

"No ma'am." Malik replied. "Dodging their fire is all I can manage at the moment."

"What about the ZAKUs?"

"It's no good ma'am. We don't have a clear launch vector for them."

Athrun gritted his teeth in frustration as he watched on. He felt completely helpless. Everyone else was going what they could to protect the ship from their attackers while he was stuck here, unable to do anything to help. Even Flay, the mother of a young child was out there, fighting against their attackers. So why was he sitting here, doing next to nothing?

* * *

"You will not keep me from finding my father!" Martin roared, firing his beams at the Chaos.

Sting transformed the Chaos, diving out of the path of the shots. He raced towards the Massacre, grabbing its shoulders with the Chaos's talons. Suddenly, the Calamity appeared, its bazooka aimed at the Chaos. "Eat this punk!" Orga shouted, firing his cannon.

Sting swore as he barely managed to dive out of the path of the beam, letting go of the Massacre in the process. _"Orga, you idiot! You could have hit me!"_

"Like I'd miss." Orga shot back.

Martin grunted before looking around for the Chaos. But it was gone. _"Dammit! Where the hell did he go?"_ he said, turning the Massacre's head around.

The Calamity hovered beside the Massacre. "Doesn't matter. We'll hunt him down."

Shinn twisted and dove around debris, dodging Gai's shots as he chased him. He quickly spun around, firing a barrage of missiles at the Z.A.M. Gundam, forcing the Earth Forces pilot to stop and shoot the missiles down. Using the opening, Shinn switched to his cannons and fired. Gai evaded the beams and fired back with his shoulder cannons. "This is so exciting!" Gai gleefully said. "But like all performances, it has to come to the end. To the grand finale!"

Gai discarded his shield and drew his other sword. He laughed as he rushed towards the Impulse. Shinn fired his cannons, but Gai sidestepped the beams and continued. The Impulse drew one of its beam javelins and thrust it forward as the black machine reached him. Beam javelin met beam blade.

Nearby, the Abyss fired its Callidus and twin triple barrel cannons at the Forbidden. Shani used his beam deflectors, once again sending the beams off in random directions. Several beams flew at the winged machine, Wing Zero. Unbeknownst to him, the Specter was targeting him from a distance. "Now what do we have here?" Treize said, taking aim at Heero. "Die Coordinator scum!"

Treize fired his rifle. Heero didn't see him, but Shawn did. "Look out!" Shawn yelled, his GuAIZ pushing Wing Zero out of the way.

The beam pierced the GuAIZ and it exploded. Heero whirled his machine about, firing on the stolen machine.

"You try and attack from behind. That's a move that an inexperienced pilot would do." Heero remarked as he dodged the shots that Treize unleashed on him.

Treize dodged the blast from the Buster Rifle, but that did not faze him. He was too thrilled at the prospect of fighting such a well-renowned ace. _"I believe that I am a far more experienced pilot than you give me credit for, Berserker of JOSH-A."_ he replied.

Heero's eyes widened at the mention of his nickname. How did this pilot know who he was?

"How did you know that?" he asked, his tone a bit angered.

_"Who could not know of your feat? Wiping out a Cyclops System is something that no one else, Natural or Coordinator, can do. And your machine is so distinct, no one else has it."_ The pilot of the Specter replied. _"Now, enough play. Time for you to die!"_

Heero dodged a shot from the Specter, Wing Zero flying upwards to get out of range.

The beam cannon followed Wing Zero, but when it fired, Heero brought up Wing Zero's shield, taking the blast with ease.

"So, it is true. That machine really is the one that destroyed the GENESIS cannon…" Treize mused with glee. Fighting such a strong ace was such a thrill!

* * *

_The Bridge of the Minerva_

The _Minerva_ shuddered as the _Girty_ _Lue_ and its mobile suits landed more near hits. Talia let out an annoyed, tired sigh. "In this position, we can't even use half of our weapons." she said. "The very rock that's protecting us from the bulk of their attacks is restricting our ability to fight back."

"Captain! Incoming missiles!" Burt shouted.

"Shoot them down!" Talia ordered.

"But Captain, they're not on a direct course for us."

Talia turned her head to Burt's station. "What?"

Talia may not have realized what they were trying, but Athrun did. He shot up from his seat. "Captain! Pull the ship away from the asteroid!" Athrun yelled, trying to warn them before it was too late.

Unfortunately, he was too late.

The missiles streaked past the _Minerva_, impacting the asteroid just ahead of them. Debris rained down on the _Minerva_. "Pull us out! Pitch 15 degrees!" Talia ordered.

The _Minerva_ started to pull away from the asteroid as more missiles raced towards them. "Reduce thrust by twenty percent!"

Though none of the missiles hit the ZAFT ship, chucks from the asteroid slammed into the _Minerva_, leaving large gashes and dents in its hull. A massive chuck of rock crashed into the _Minerva's_ path, blocking their escape as more debris rained down around the ship, pinning the _Minerva_.

"Thrusters Four and Six are damaged." Arthur reported.

"Captain! An additional mobile armor approaching." Meyrin added.

Talia grabbed the phone on her chair. "Abes, launch the ZAKUs."

"Yes, ma'am. But the catapult is blocked by debris." Abes replied.

"I don't care if they have to walk out. Just get them out there!"

"Yes, ma'am."

One of the _Minerva's_ catapults opened. A white ZAKU Phantom, equipped with a Blaze Wizard Pack and a red ZAKU Warrior with a Gunner Wizard Pack emerged. The two ZAKUs took off, heading towards their attackers.

"Alright! Real opponents!" Gyunei said, transforming his mobile suit into its mobile armor form and racing towards them.

Luna fired her cannon at the Rosso Aegis, but Gyunei effortlessly dodged her shots. Gyunei laughed. "Ah! Here, try this!"

He fired his Scylla II cannon at the duo of ZAKUs. Rey and Luna sidestepped his first few shots, but were caught completely off guard when the beams started to curve. "What the hell?! Curving beams?!" exclaimed Luna as they evaded the beams. "How is that even possible?!"

_"I have no idea."_ Rey replied.

A Tristan gun aimed at Gyunei, forcing him back.

_"Damn ship!"_ the Extended swore as he backed off.

Nearby, Luna and Reccoa squared off. Luna repeatedly fired her cannon, but she couldn't hit the nimble Blu Duel. "You've made a poor choice of weapon, Coordinator. A long-range cannon should never be used for close-combat." Reccoa said. "Smaller beam rifles should be used for this kind of combat."

The Extended pilot fired her beam guns at her. Luna ducked down, avoiding her beams. She then tried to take aim and fire on the Duel again, but Reccoa kept on firing, preventing Luna from getting a clear shot on her.

Elsewhere, Rey and Xander battled. Much like the duel between Luna and Reccoa, Rey stayed close to the Verde Buster, reducing the effectiveness of his weapons. Xander fired off a barrage of missiles at the ZAKU. But Rey either dodged them or shot them down. He then threw a grenade at the Buster. The explosive impacted the mobile suit and exploded, throwing it back.

Rey aimed his assault rifle at the machine and was about to fire when Rey felt a shudder crawl up his spine. He jumped back, barely dodging the Exus's beams. "Xander!" Neo called out. "I'll deal with him; you take care of that warship."

_"Yes sir." _Xander replied, heading for the trapped Minerva.

"It's just you and me, Mr. White." Neo said, launching his gunbarrels. "Let's see what you got."

The _Minerva_ shuddered as the Verde Buster started to fire on the warship through a narrow space in between the rocks. "Where're Shinn and the others?" Talia asked.

"They're still fighting the other mobile suits, ma'am." Meyrin answered.

"Doesn't this ship have any more mobile suits?" Durandal asked, a note of concern in his voice.

"Yes. But we don't have any more pilots." the Captain replied.

"Captain, what if we blow away the debris in front of us with the Tannhauser?" Arthur suggested.

"We'll just end up blowing up more debris around ourselves."

It was then that Athrun thought of it. "Captain, how many of the starboard thrusters are still active?"

"What?" Talia said, turning to face the young man.

Durandal nodded his head. "Six." she answered. "But even if we use them to get out of here, we'll just be a target again."

"Captain, fire up those thrusters and at the same time, fire all of your still functioning starboard weapons at the asteroid." Athrun ordered.

"But-"

"The force of the explosion should push the ship and the surrounding rocks clear of the asteroid."

"If we do that, the _Minerva's_ hull will be further damaged in the process." Arthur argued.

"Our top priority is to get out of this situation." Athrun shot back. "If we stay here, we'll be sitting ducks."

Talia sighed. "He's right. Do it."

"But Captain-"

"Do it Arthur. Prepare to fire all armaments on the starboard side. Fire them simultaneously as we initiate a maximum burn on our starboard thrusters." Talia ordered.

Arthur reluctantly nodded. "Yes ma'am." He turned to his console. "Preparing all starboard armaments for firing."

"When I give the signal, fire the starboard thrusters."

Meanwhile, the _Girty_ _Lue_ advanced on the trapped _Minerva_ as Xander continued to fire on it. The combined firepower of the ship and mobile ship would be enough to severely damage the _Minerva_ if not destroy it completely. "Bogey-1, distance: 150." Burt reported.

"All hands, brace for shockwave impact." Talia said. "Starboard thruster at maximum!"

The remaining starboard thrusters of the _Minerva_ activated, pushing the ship against the rocks pinning them. "All starboard weapons, fire!" Arthur ordered.

The starboard missile tubes fired off a spread of missiles as the starboard Tristan beam cannon and Isolde triple cannon fired. The explosion threw up rocks into space. Xander cursed as he fired every weapon his machine had to protect himself from the flying rocks. The rest of the nearby mobile suits stopped fighting and turned to the asteroid. The _Minerva_, battered but still functional, emerged from the asteroid.

"30 degrees yaw!" Talia ordered. "Fire at Bogey-1!"

"Targeting Tannhauser at Bogey-1" Arthur said.

The powerful positron blaster cannon unfolded from the front of the warship as a wave of dust and rock headed for the _Girty_ _Lue_. "Evasive maneuvers! Hard to port!" Lee ordered as the debris reached his ship.

"Fire!" Talia shouted.

The Tannhauser fired, the beam tearing through the dust cloud, grazing the starboard side of the _Girty_ _Lue_, damaging it. The _Minerva_ flew past the _Girty_ _Lue_ as smoke poured out of the damaged carrier.

"Damn." Neo cursed. "To think that they would actually manage turn things around like that..."

Suddenly, Rey fired on the mobile armor, but Neo dodged his shots. "We're withdrawing! Lee, fire the signal flares!"

* * *

Heero and Treize were still duking it out with each other, the two pilots trying to get the upper hand on the other. While Treize had the better machine and performance-enhancing drugs, Heero had the experience and the Zero System.

Immersing himself in said system, he closed his eyes, drawing upon every plan the system was feeding him.

Treize saw the machine come to a stop, and grinned. Now was his chance! As he flew in for the kill, Heero's eyes snapped open. He fired the Twin Buster Rifle, but Treize dodged it. Heero stared in shock as the Specter got really close to his cockpit, cannon firing. He could not dodge…

Suddenly, the Strike Raven appeared in front of Wing Zero. The beams struck its shield, sparing both machines any damage. _"Are you okay?"_ Flay asked, not taking her eyes off the Specter.

Heero grunted. "Fine. Get out of the way. This is between me and that pilot. You will only hamper my effectiveness."

"Pest." Treize said, pulling out his beam guns. "I'll destroy both of you then!"

At that very moment, flares were shot from the _Girty_ _Lue_, signaling their retreat. "Dammit!" Treize said, punching the screen. "Everyone, time to go."

_"But I'm not done!"_ Gai complained as he and Shinn continued to trade blows with his swords and his javelin.

_"Yeah!"_ Auel added as his spear and Shani's scythe were locked in a test of strength.

"I said, _it's time to go_. Am I clear?" Treize said.

_"Okay..."_ Gai said before he kicked the Impulse in the chest, knocking Shinn back, allowing him to withdraw.

_"Yeah yeah, I'm going."_ Auel grunted as he pulled away from the Forbidden and headed back.

Nearby, the Gaia and the Chaos left their opponents and headed for the _Girty_ _Lue_.

"This is not over." Treize said to the ZAFT and ORB pilots before raced off, joining his teammates.

* * *

_The Bridge of the Minerva_

"Captain. Bogey-1 and its mobile suits are retreating." Burt reported.

"The Impulse, and the ORB mobile suits are critically low on power while Wing Zero has returned." Meyrin paused for a moment. "We also lost Shawn, Tristan, and Dale."

Talia sighed. "Ship status?"

"Due to the explosions earlier, Engine Number Two and the port side heat sensors were critically damaged." Arthur answered.

"Captain Gladys, we've done enough." Durandal said. "We need to stop and lick our wounds before planning our next move. Plus I can't risk keeping Representative Athha around here any longer."

* * *

_Constitution_

"Fire the signal flares. They are retreating." Aisha said as the crew nodded.

The three flares fired and lit up space as the Wing and Diver headed back to the ship, leaving behind a bunch of Dagger remains.

* * *

_The Minerva's Hanger_

_A Short While Later_

Heero exited Wing Zero, only to catch sight of Athrun, Cagalli, Flay, and Lord Uzumi waiting for him.

He floated down to their location, but only after he locked down his machine.

"Cagalli." He said flatly.

"Heero!" Cagalli cried as she jumped onto him, hugging him. "It's really you! Where have you been" she asked as she pulled away from him.

"Everywhere."

"How did you survive that blast?" Athrun asked.

Heero just looked towards his machine. Athrun was stunned. "Wow…That Gundanium is really something else." Cagalli murmured as she recalled Heero's story that he had told her and the other members of the _Archangel_ crew back during the first war.

"I must say, if we knew how to make such a strong armor, we would not have to rely on Phase Shift armor." Lord Uzumi noted as he looked at Wing Zero as well.

At that moment, the PLANT Chairman came down as well to greet the most famous ace of the previous war.

"Ah. You must be the Berserker of JOSH-A. Welcome aboard the _Minerva_. It is an honor to have someone who played such a key role in stopping the last war on our ship." Chairman Durandal said as he extended a hand to Heero. "I am the PLANT Chairman, Gilbert Durandal."

Heero looked at his hand with a hesitant look and suspicion in his eyes, but he then took it. "Thank you. I believe that you are going after those machines still?"

"That you are right about." Durandal replied. "Your help would be most welcome."

"Zero mentioned another war if this is not brought under control." Heero said.

"Yes, that is true. We can't allow that to happen under any circumstances." Durandal agreed. "But I am curious. How did you manage to get in Armory One?"

"I infiltrated ZAFT." Heero replied. "I also kept tabs on the groups after the war, and managed to sneak Wing Zero inside."

"I see, so how long were you undercover?" the chairman asked.

"Over a week, most of it spent in my machine." Heero replied.

"Well then, I would imagine you are in need of supplies. Feel free to make use of the ship. I would show you around myself, but I have my own duties to attend to." Durandal said as he turned to leave. "Perhaps one of the crew could show you around."

"I will." Luna said as she floated up to the pilot of Wing Zero.

"Very well, then." The chairman agreed. "Also, please show them to some rooms. It will be a bit before we can regain our lead on the other ship."

"Yes sir!" Luna said with a salute as Heero noticed the mechanics drooling over his machine.

Athrun also noticed this and spoke up. "If I could make a suggestion, sir?"

"Yes?" Durandal asked.

"Order your mechanics to stay away from Wing Zero." Athrun said.

"And why is that?" the chairman asked as he looked at Heero.

Heero was calm as ever, but he had an ice-cold glare in his eyes. "Wing Zero will self-destruct if anyone tries to enter the cockpit or gets too close and wipe out this ship and the entire crew." He said, making the mechanics jump back.

"I see. Very well, then. No one is to touch Wing Zero without Heero Yuy's permission." The chairman ordered as he left the room.

* * *

_Captain's Quarters_

Captain Gladys was in her room when the Chairman entered.

"I see you are back from the bridge?" he asked.

"Yes, and I was looking over Heero Yuy's data and combat achievements. It would seem that his machine is the real deal." She said as she looked up.

"Yes, that much we have confirmed." Durandal agreed.

Gladys sighed. "What I find unusual is that he is a Natural, yet he can beat even the best Coordinator pilots out there." She said as she looked at the image of Wing Zero in the hanger.

"That machine of his…I believe that it is the key to his abilities, as well as the computer system it has on board." She murmured.

"A machine can only take someone so far. It is really the abilities of the pilot that make the machine formidable. And sometimes nature can make a better Natural that surpasses even the best Coordinator that can be created in the lab." The chairman replied.

He was impressed by the young man's abilities, which included the destruction of the famed Cyclops System _and_ the GENESIS cannon. But all of it came down to his genes, and he was just a mere Natural. That was what it all came down to in the end, and nothing could change that.

Durandal looked back at the image of Wing Zero. This was about to get interesting, that was for sure…

* * *

_Washington D.C._

President Hilson was in the Oval Office as she read over the reports of a battle that New Juneau had picked up. It appeared the Lord Uzumi, his daughter, and two of their attendants were unable to be contacted, which meant only one of three things.

"They're either on a ZAFT ship, captives of the EA, or dead. But the latter is unlikely, as they would have been killed, then ejected into space, and the ORB ship in the area did not find any bodies or even send a report to us, so that means that the first two options are the most likely…" she murmured.

Looking back at the picture of her family, she walked back towards where the Vice-President was sitting. "We need to get in contact with the ORB ship that was in the area. Can you do that?" she asked.

"I can." Vice-President Young replied. "But it will take some time."

"Just do it. I need to know if Lord Uzumi and his daughter are still alive."

"Yes, ma'am."

With that said and done, all she had to do was wait.

* * *

_Few hours later_

_"So that's where Lord Uzumi and Cagalli are."_ Captain Toth said as he spoke to the President of NASA over the com-line.

"I see. Thanks for clearing that up." President Hilson said.

_"Don't mention it."_ The ORB captain said before he closed out of the communications.

The president sighed as she leaned back in her chair. "Why did Armory One have to be attacked?" she murmured as she looked over at the Vice-President.

"I don't know, but something tells me that this is more than just a mere theft." He replied as he stood up from where he had been leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

"You think so?" President Hilson asked as she sat up.

Her vice-president nodded. "I do. If you recall from past experience, this is not the first time such a thing has happened. This is the start of another war."

"Damn it!" the president swore as she slammed her fist down on the desk. "This can't go on!"

"I know, and that is why we need to talk to the Chairman as soon as possible." Vice-President Young said as he looked at the president.

"Agreed…"

When the vice-president left, the president was able to reflect on what brought about the decision.

NASA had recently been sent the data of the Armory One battle from New Juneau, which had not been easy to get, considering the distance of the new colony from the rest of the PLANTs. It had been only thanks to VEDA that the data had been sent to the colony, which had then sent it down to Earth.

Her decision to address this with the chairman of the PLANTs was the only way to try and ensure that a war did not come about again.

She recalled the disaster that was the first war, and her mission that she had undertaken to protect NASA. That had been the hardest thing to do, but she had done it.

Even though the government of NASA had been against her decision, she had managed to get them to see her side of things. Then she had been allowed to send an agent on the mission, which he had pulled off with flying colors.

Still, it was up to her to bring about a peaceful resolution…

* * *

_Pentagon_

Defense Secretary John Keller looked over the data that had been sent to him from the president herself. According to the data and based on past experience, this was just the start of another war.

"So, it begins again…" he muttered softly as he looked out at the massive buildings that made up the capital of the United States. It seemed that his nation could barely stay out of war, even in times of peace.

Yet, it always seemed to be them that also brought about the end to wars that they were involved in. Perhaps the United States could use that it its advantage, if they could that is.

He sighed again. How could his nation ever hope to bring about peace from war if they profited off of war themselves? It just did not make any sense.

"We profit off of war, and yet we desire to bring about peace…just how contradicting can we be?" he mused. It was ironic, and yet everyone in the nation truly desired to bring about peace. A nation that was a powerhouse of both military and economic might, capable of more than profiting off of war, desired peace, which meant no more war, and no more profits.

The alliance needed the money true, but they could get in other ways besides just war, right? If that was true then, why did they still profit off of war? He knew why, and it was because NASA was the biggest arms maker aside from the AEU, which surpassed NASA until a few years ago, when the Executive Order 88742610 had been repealed. Yet NASA was still far from its full strength, which was the downside of such an act.

NASA had put that order into place to restrict their own abilities so that they would not go back to their old war-waging ways, and yet war had forced them to repeal it, and forced them to go back to their old ways of being capable of waging war.

It had all been a failed attempt at becoming truly peaceful. The nation had been in the process of becoming a pacifistic nation, and yet war had forced them to regain their old title of superpower, a title that the United States now despised despite it being their greatest weapon, and their greatest reason to intervene in world affairs in the past.

_'War was what forced us to nearly take on a pacifistic nature and become a peaceful nation, and yet war was what also forced us to reclaim the title that we had given up so willingly all those years ago.'_ The defense secretary thought as he looked back at the flag that was above the five-sided building.

His home nation was now on the path to becoming the strongest nation once more, and it was all necessary, or so he had been told.

Deep down, Keller doubted it really _was_ necessary, because they hadn't been the ones to win the first war. It was the Clyne Faction, not NASA. That was what worried him. He was concerned that the president had become enthralled in and addicted to the lust of power, and the mere possibility of being able to wage war again was possibly making her excited. Yet she did not show any signs of the power lust that were well-known to almost everyone in the government.

"What are you playing at, President Hilson?" Keller murmured.

There was no reply…

The U.S. was determined to bring about peace, but the nation drove itself on war. Why would such a nation want peace? Keller knew the answer, but it was not so simple he knew. The reason the U.S. wanted peace was because they wanted to see all humans be free, free from suffering, and free from hatred. But at the same time, it was up to the rest of the world to change. The U.S. could not force them to change, as it was up to the individual nations and their citizens to change on their own.

Even if the U.S. wanted to force the rest of the world to change, it would still be up to the people to change, not the U.S. forcing them to. As if the nation would go that far anyway…

It was in the American nature to be wanting peace, even if it was at a cost. But what that cost was, Keller wished he did not know.

The U.S. was more than willing to risk its ideals to bring about peace, but not in the way that he meant. What Keller knew was that the U.S. was willing to risk taking on the Earth Alliance and losing in order to try and bring about peace and acceptance of Coordinators.

It was ironic to him. The very nation that was famous in the past, was now infamous in the present. They were infamous for their ideals and acceptance of Coordinator citizens, but in the past, the nation had been famous for their ideals and human rights acceptance. They were called weak by the AEU and other nations that were similar to the alliance now, but back in the past, the U.S. had been called strong for their willingness to work on promoting human rights.

A nation that was once called strong was now called weak, but it was the opposite in the past. The nation had been called weak once, but then was called strong.

Keller could only wonder if the rest of the world considered the U.S. strong or weak. It really did not matter, but what did matter was if they were proving to be an example of how to treat other human beings, regardless of gene enhancement or not.

The idea of treating Coordinators as human seemed to be considered going against the laws of nature, but they _were_ human, despite their origins being different.

Even now, the AEU considered the U.S. rebellious for treating the genetically enhanced as human. But it was not like the AEU had any power over the alliance of NASA anyway…

Still, all Keller could do was hope that the U.S. was setting a good example for other nations to follow. But, as with everything else, that was up to the people to decide…

He closed his eyes and sighed. Like everyone else in the administration, he longed for those days when people had trusted one another, and actually worked with each other to get things done. Back then, the world _had_ been on the road to peace, and they were so close in achieving it, only for George Glenn to bring it all crashing down.

True, the man had not been at fault for what had happened, after all, he had just revealed his secret to try and help humanity, but that had been the start of it. After that, the rest of the world had reacted with such hatred for those people, the enhanced, and the ones who created them. No one had expected that.

The responses had been far worse than when the U.S. had averted the Reconstruction Incident, as the near collapse of HRL member China had become known. Of course, that had been when the planet had had leadership that was actually committed to promoting human rights and peace. People had not rioted in the revelation of China's near collapse. Rather, they had supported the decision the planetary leaders had made back then.

Keller looked out the window, still contemplating on whether the U.S. had the right to react to a near war that was about to begin. True, they are a nation that was affected by war, but given what they had gone through before, he was still unsure if it was the right thing to do.

No one was truly correct on anything or everything…

* * *

_New Juneau_

Aki' floated by the massive windows that marked the center of the colony after NASA's new ship had docked, wondering if Nisha was still out there somewhere. He closed his eyes as he gripped the pendant he had been given by his sister, his scar being all that remained of Nisha's presence. The NAZAFT pilot then drifted by a window, looking out at the vastness of space.

He recalled his fear of killing his own cousin. When he had been in ZAFT in the last war, Aki' had been trying to avoid killing Nisha, but in the end, Nisha died anyway. When the two had moved on from their past hatred for one another, Nisha had admitted that he had been afraid of killing Aki' as well. But then…

Tears began to float away from the Coordinator's face as he reflected on the times he had had with his cousin.

_'Nisha…Why did he have to die? He did not deserve that fate…not Nisha, a kind, caring person who had so much to live for…'_

Even after the end of the war, Aki' still had dreams in which he saw Nisha's machine blow up and where he could not do anything to prevent it. It made him so mad; mad at Nisha for his sacrifice, mad at himself for not preventing it… He often cried himself to sleep in the aftermath, but even then it was still hard to accept.

The Z.A.M. Gundam had been supposed to survive. It hadn't. Aki' still had the emotional wounds from that day, the day when Nisha had been killed.

Aki' recalled how close he and his cousin had been before he had joined ZAFT. It had been a life that he had never thought would end. But when the tenth anniversary of his sister's death had gone by, Aki' had decided to join ZAFT to get revenge on her killers.

That had been the start of the downfall of that close relationship. In the end, when Nisha had died, Aki' had wished that he had never joined ZAFT. If he hadn't, then Nisha would still be alive, and they would still be close.

Nisha had suffered a brutal death, and all because of _his_ selfish decision to join ZAFT to avenge his sister.

* * *

The NAZAFT commander looked out at where the battle had recently taken place. Debris floated around the site, but that was all that was left.

No one had expected a battle to occur so quickly given the fact that peace was expected to last for a few more years before another war broke out. But given the circumstances, there was a likely chance that war would break out sooner than expected.

The fact that several new machines had been stolen by the Earth Alliance from ZAFT bothered her greatly. That meant that ZAFT had gone against the Treaty of Junius Seven. Of course, there was no one to enforce the treaty and make sure that the signers followed it, so it was to be expected.

She sighed. It was just like _them_, to be neutral on all issues that came up now. She recalled the days when they had been active, or more specifically, what her grandparents had told her that is. What she had been told was that they had once been a great organization that led the world and settled disputes between nations. There had been no need for war with them in charge. But, when they became neutral, all that changed. War became more pronounced, and nations began to distrust one another after George Glenn's revelation. Who knew if a nation or alliance was producing super-soldiers using the techniques that man revealed?

No one could be trusted anymore. The nations of Earth wanted to try and get rid of the genetically enhanced that now existed, for fear of a life of enslavement by them. Naturals hated the Coordinators all because they had abilities that Naturals lacked, all because they were given a better chance at life, all because the Coordinators were given better genetics.

So Naturals claimed that Coordinators were aggressive and mean, that they could defy physics by lifting up a car with hand, that they could leap over a one story building with just three jumps, etc. But what most Naturals failed to realize was that Coordinators were only optimized to bring out maximum growth and potential, not defy the laws of physics and gravity. All that occurred during genetic enhancement was the best of a person's genes was brought out.

People in Blue Cosmos/LOGOs failed to realize that Coordinators were conceived naturally and born naturally. They were not born in tubes, on order, etc. Their genes were just enhanced to give them the best start at life as possible. No Coordinator was made to be a physics-defying superhuman. It was just not possible. There were limits to what even Coordinators could do at their very best.

Looking back at the planet behind the colony, the NAZAFT commander just shook her head. Even now, there were those who wanted to kill as many Coordinators as they possibly could. No Coordinator was safe on Earth. Therefore, that left only the PLANTs as the safe haven for all Coordinators to live in.

She sighed. Her white hair was sign of her being a Coordinator, so she was also a potential target, even with her American citizen status. Even American Coordinators were not safe on Earth, well, outside their home nation that is. Outside the United States and NASA, any American Coordinator was ripe for taking down.

It made her sad as she recalled her brother, a Natural, getting killed all because he had a Coordinator sister. Anyone who had a Coordinator family member, or a Coordinator friend, was also killed, according to Blue Cosmos/LOGOs, because they were now 'impure' humans.

Only those who killed Coordinators were accepted as the 'true humans'. That made the NAZAFT commander sick to her stomach as she clenched her fists. Her home, NASA, was one of only two places that were safe on Earth for Coordinators, and even then they were still targeted.

When would the petty hatred between both genetic types end? After all, they were all human right? That being said, they all thought like humans, breathed like humans, bled red blood like all humans, and ate like humans right? They even all slept like humans!

No one was deemed safe on Earth unless it was in ORB or in NASA, the only two places on Earth where Coordinators could live openly without fear of prosecution. ORB allowed Coordinators in only if they accepted the nation's ideals while in NASA Coordinators were allowed the exact same rights as Naturals, even the sacred right to vote!

That last one made many EA members, mainly the AEU, very upset because that meant that Coordinators would be allowed to hold public office, which was what NASA allowed to happen to piss off the AEU even further.

With Coordinators now holding the offices meant only for the 'real humans' in NASA, the AEU had backed down, which meant that they had avoided an all-out war with the most powerful alliance on Earth.

But still, the NAZAFT commander knew, who knew how long it would be before the EA would make another move?

Time was not friendly to those who challenged it, and that was what the Earth Alliance had done. Now, all NASA could really do was observe and take a side if the need ever arose.

And that the alliance wanted to avoid at all costs…

* * *

_ORB Union_

A male form smirked.

Soon, the assassin would be ready, and he would be able to take the throne like his family had always desired!

He laughed, his laughter unheard by anyone except his father, his maids, and his servants.

* * *

The battle ends as the thieves escape, but more issues loom on the horizon. But new issues begin to arise, and NASA finds itself slowly getting drawn in at the forefront. What happens next? Read on to find out~! :3

Anyway, you all know this, but I will put it anyway. Constructive criticism is appreciated as are reviews. Flames, AKA, hate-filled/spamming reviews, **_WILL_** be reported and/or deleted depending on if they are signed or not.

Anyway, read and review! ^^


	45. Phase 5: Scars That Won't Heal

**New chapter is up is up! Note: I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Ian, Saul, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, Treize Zabiarov, Gyunei Ridden, Reccoa Schnieder, or the machines listed for the remaining members of the Le Creuset team, as they are Akatsuki_Leader13's and are used with his permission as such. I also do not own Xander Alexis, as he belongs to Mordalfus Grae. Nor do I own Matrin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Tao White, Akira, Nishikama, Nisha and Taikyu Itsuno, Preisdent Marie Hilson, Gai Tatsuni, NASA/NAZAFT, the Presidential Murasame, the Raptor, the Dax, Wing, Traverse, and Z.A.M. Gundams, and the colony of New Juneau.**

**KentLinuxStadfelt: You could have forgotten. That can happen. ^^'**

**CT7567Rules: You will have to see. And who would _not_ know about JOSH-A and Heero's feat? He didn't exactly keep that a secret... ^^'**

**nbk- Inconsistent Guest: You obviously won't stick with a single guest name, so I will just call you '**inconsistent guest'** from now on.**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :3**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in and leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in and leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, then feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

* * *

_Cosmic Era 72. One and half years of grim war between Earth and PLANTs ended following the space battle at Jachin Due. The two sides forged a peace treaty amid the ruins of Junius Seven. A place of unprecedented tragedy during the war. The former enemies pledged themselves to work for mutual understanding and to make every effort possible to maintain peace. As a result, the world once more on the path of stability._

* * *

Phase Five: Scars That Won't Heal

_Junius Seven_

Unbeknownst to virtually everyone, a group of men and women in GINN High Maneuver Type IIs and worker pods were moving around the largest piece of Junius Seven. They were all fanatics on a mission. To first what Hong Fa Wu started. "_Solar wind velocity is steady. Flare level S3. Estimated time to particle arrival, 30 seconds." _one pilot reported.

"Hurry up." a GINN pilot said. "What about Unit 9?"

_"We're just about ready sir."_ another replied.

A worker pod entered a code on the final motor. _"Flare motor ignition countdown starting."_

All of the mobile suits and pods started to withdraw from Junius Seven as one of them started the countdown. _"Ten... Nine... Eight... Seven... Six... Five... Four... Three... Two... One... Particles have arrived. Flare motors activating."_

Hundreds of red lights appeared across Junius Seven. The speed of the massive wreckage increased, driving towards Earth.

_"Junius Seven has begun to move."_

Sato, the leader of the group, glanced at a group of photos taped to his console. "Helen, Kristen... We'll be reunited after this." he whispered as his former home headed for Earth.

"Now fall! Our great tombstone!" Sato shouted to heavens. "On a world that has forgotten the voices of sorrow! That closes its eyes to the truth! And chooses to wallow in deceit! The hour of correction is now at hand!"

* * *

_The Minerva_

"I know you." Orga said.

"So? What's that got to do with our encounter now?" Heero asked.

The former Extended shook his head. "You were one of those who shot us down."

Heero just grunted. "Hn."

"How did you survive Jachin Due? We thought you had died in the explosion." Orga answered. "Don't you remember?"

Heero remembered all too well, as he had been there when it had happened. He had survived the explosion thanks to Wing Zero's armor, but he had been in hiding for the past two years in case another war began to brew.

The Natural turned away and walked out of the room, but not before he answered. "I managed to survive thanks to Wing Zero. That is all you need to know."

With that, he left the room, leaving behind several confused Coordinators and three confused former Extendeds.

* * *

_Talia's Quarters_

_Later That Night_

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

Talia rose from her bed, draping a sheet over her naked body. She reached her desk and opened the comm. "Yes?"

_"Captain. There's a message from the Supreme Council on Channel 1 for Chairman Durandal."_

Talia looked over her shoulder at her bed. Gillbert nodded. "I'll take it in here." he said.

* * *

_Thirty Minutes Later_

Cagalli suppress a yawn as she rubbed her tired eyes. Standing beside her was Athrun and Flay. All of them were wondering why the Chairman had called for them in the middle of the night. The door to the Captain's Quarters opened. "Come in Princess." Durandal said, greeting them. "I'm afraid I have some grave news for you."

"What is it? What's happened?" Cagalli asked as they entered.

"Take a seat and I'll explain everything." Durandal answered.

Cagalli and Durandal both sat down as Flay and Athrun stood beside Cagalli while Captain Gladys stood next to Durandal. The Chairman let out a tired sigh and explained what they had just learned from ZAFT. Stunning and horrifying the three. "What? Junius Seven is moving towards Earth?" Cagalli exclaimed.

"But Junius Seven's orbit was supposed to be stable for hundreds of years. How could this happen?" Flay asked.

"We don't know. Perhaps an asteroid hit it and altered its course." Durandal suggested. "Regardless, it is now on a collision course with the Earth."

"If it falls... Orb... No, the entire planet..." Cagalli stopped, unable to finish her sentence.

Flay's mind was on her son and Chris. One of her hands was wrapped around her locket and Chris's dog tag. Junius Seven had been Chris's home before it was destroyed. His parents and many of his friends had died there and was their resting place. And Alexander was living in ORB. He was in danger. If Junius Seven hit the Earth, he would...

Her hand clenched around the two objects. She would not allow that to happen. She had lost enough already.

"Indeed Princess. If Junius Seven collides with Earth, the damage would be catastrophic." Durandal said. "At the moment, we're doing all we can to stop the collision and investigating what caused this disaster." Durandal sighed. "I must apologize for involving you in yet another incident, but I have ordered the _Minerva_ to head for Junius Seven once our repairs have been completed. I hope you understand."

Cagalli nodded. "Of course. This is vital to all of us as well. And I offer any assistance that I or the ORB personnel with me can offer." she urgently said.

"I appreciate your offer, Princess. I fear that we may have to call on them before this is over."

* * *

_Crew Lounge_

_The Next Day_

_Minerva_ pilots and some of the crew as well as John, Orga, Martin, and Shani were sitting around, talking the news that had spread across the ship like wildfire. That Junius Seven was now on a collision course with Earth. Expect for Shani, Martin, and Orga, who were sitting off to a side, lost in their little worlds. "Hmm... But how did it start moving?" Vino asked before taking a sip from his drink.

"Maybe a meteorite or something hit it." Yolant suggested.

"So then is it really on a collision course with Earth?" Shinn asked.

"Aye." John grimly replied, staring into the contents of his coffee mug.

"This does not show the signs of being hit be a meteor." Heero noted, catching the attention of everyone in the room.

Shinn was stunned. "Then what happened?"

"Meteor."

"You just said that a meteor did not hit the colony, though."

Heero glared at Shinn. "Operation Meteor. Basically, a colony or colony remains get dropped onto the planet below, causing large amounts of damage and a large loss of life. It was nearly carried out in my old universe, but was stopped in the end."

"So you're saying that we would drop the colony onto the planet?!" Shinn snarled.

"No, I'm not. Someone else did though, and I believe that they are the ones responsible, whether they are Naturals or Coordinators." Heero replied.

Luna sighed. "First the attack on Armory One, which we have yet to wrap up, and now this. Just what is going on?"

"So what are we going to do when get to Junius Seven?" Vino asked. "I mean how do we stop something like that?"

"Simple. We shatter it." Heero answered as he looked about the room.

"Shatter it? How?" Vino asked.

"I just finished talking to the ZAFT Commander that's been placed in charge of the operation. It's impossible to change its course in time. So we're going to either let NASA find a way to break it up or use Meteor Breakers to shatter Junius Seven into countless smaller pieces. Most of which will burn up in the atmosphere. Those that do get through the atmosphere will cause considerably less damage." John explained.

"But that thing's huge!" exclaimed Yolant. "Even if we do break it half, that's still 8 kilometers we have to break up. And how will NASA be able to destroy it? It's a war memorial!"

Heero grunted. "And your point is?"

"How do you destroy something that big?"

"And what about the victims?" Meyrin quietly added. "It's filled with the bodies of those who died."

"But if it hits, Earth will be annihilated." Rey countered. "Nothing would be left, alive or dead."

Everyone was silent for moment, contemplating what would happen. "Oh well... If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. It's out of our hands." Yolant mused. "But look on bright side, it'd solve a lot of hassles for us and things would be better for us in the PLANTs."

_WHAM!_

"Ow!"

"Don't even joke about that, kid." John coldly said as he stood over Yolant.

Heero aimed his gun at the boy, stunning the crew members in the room. "Give me one reason to not kill you right here and now!" he snarled.

"Hey! He was just kidding around. Yolant didn't mean that." Shinn said in defense of his friend.

"You don't get it, do you? We're talking about billions of lives here! It would be the same as every PLANT being destroyed at the same time." John replied. "All of your friends, family, everyone you know, gone in an instant. That is what we are dealing with here. I don't give a damn about whatever problem any of you have with the governments of Earth. Its people do not deserve annihilation. And you're lucky that neither Representative Attha nor Flay are here at the moment. Both of them would kick your asses for that. Heero though, let's just say that you are screwed if you try it again. And _don't_ get me started on how the President of the United States would react."

"We know that!" Shinn yelled back. "Yolant was just trying to lighten the mood!"

"You _do not_ lighten mood with that kind of crap." John shot back. "I thought the PLANTs had changed since Hong Fa Wu ran things. What he said was the kind of garbage that he, the creep La Creuset, and those who followed them would say."

Unnoticed by the rest of them, Rey tensed at the mention of Creuset.

"If that's what those in the ZAFT still believe, I'm glad I left."

Shinn opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Luna interrupted. "That's enough you two! We're supposed to be allies here! Not tearing at each other's throats out!"

John nodded. "Sorry about that. I got a little carried away there. But I was right. This isn't a joking matter."

"I agree. But attacking Yolant isn't going to accomplish anything." Rey replied. "Shinn. I don't hear your apology."

"I'm sorry." Shinn grumbled.

"Now, let's focus on the mission ahead of us. Alright?"

* * *

_New Juneau_

Alarms sounded in New Juneau as Coordinators of NAZAFT ran to their stations, startled by the movement of the destroyed colony.

"Get a lock on where Junius Seven will hit! And get the data to NASA at once! We need to destroy up the colony before it hits Earth! Prepare the 7th for combat as well!" the colony Commander ordered as her men and women ran about.

"But ma'am! The overhauls are far from finished! Without the units, there will not be enough power to destroy the combatants if there are any!" an aide said as he looked at her. "We need more time!"

"If you noticed, we are out of time! Get the Squadron out there or you will be put on lower duties for the next few months!" the Commander snarled as she glared at the aide. The aide shuddered, but went about his duties, trying to coordinate the break-up efforts.

This was going to be close…

* * *

_A Private Estate_

_Earth_

A group of wealthy men sat around a plush, expensive-looking lounge, talking about the looming crisis. "Well then, this is a shocking situation."

"Indeed. A truly unprecedented crisis. The doomsday scenario of Earth."

"I can't help but wonder if someone actually wrote such scenario."

"I've ordered Phantom Pain to investigate that matter." Djibril said to his associates.

"Does that even matter now? What good will such an investigation do?" Mr. Lorne asked.

"That's what we are investigating." Djibril answered.

"Why did you call this meeting, Djibril?" Mr. Gradenko asked with an impatient tone in his voice. "I can't see the SAF and all the other nations of the Earth not doing everything they can to prevent that thing from falling and taking the necessary precautions in case it does hit."

Djibril suppressed a smirk. "I'm not being overly dramatic when I say that I am completely shocked by what's happened." he said. "Junius Seven... Is this really happening? And why? Those were the first questions that entered my mind as well."

Mr. Hoffesommer punched the table he was sitting at. "Cut to the chase Djibril."

"No. That's the whole point." he replied with a smirk. "Given what's about to happen, the whole world will be asking these questions. That's where we come in. Durandal of the PLANTs has already issued a warning to all the nations of the Earth and that ZAFT is already doing everything they can to prevent a collision. NAZAFT is on high alert as well."

"He was quick to do so."

"They're panicking as well."

"Perhaps this event is due to natural causes." Mr. Lorne mused. "If that's the case..."

"So what? That's irrelevant now." Djibril said, seeking to crush any thought of that before it started. "What's important is what happens after the crisis. What's important is the answer that we will provide the grieving citizens when they ask, 'Why did this happen?'. This is why I have secured us a useful asset." He turned to the door. "We will have a new machine soon."

"What kind of machine?" Mr. Hoffesommer inquired as he reached for a glass of wine.

Djibril smirked. "They will be the new armaments of the EA. Soon, if they perform as expected, all of the nations will have them, and the PLANTs will fall to us, the wielders of the machines of destruction, the Destroy."

"Impressive Djibril. You've been thinking quite far in advance for this." Gradenko commented.

"Of course. Regardless of the cause, no one can deny that very soon, one clumsy, stupid object up in the sky is going to fall down on our heads. It's a humiliation! Think of how this looks. Because of that cursed thing, we all run around, looking scared and spineless. Someone must pay for this disgrace. But who?" Djibril paused, letting his question sink in. "Who else but the Coordinators who put that thing into space in the first place! Doesn't that make sense?"

"That's fine with me. But given the situation, the damage may be so severe that we may not have the strength to fight a war." Lorne pointed out.

"That is why I have gathered you here today." Djibril replied. "Escaping and seeking shelter is fine. But immediately afterwards, we should attack, with the plan. I'd like to request your collective approval."

"Brilliant."

"A bold move."

"The resulting hatred for the Coordinators will get the people riled up. They will fight."

"Those that are left anyway." Mr. Lorne sighed. "I suppose that we'll be uniting the people with the power of hatred."

Gradenko nodded. "It appears that there are no objections, Djibril. We'll meet again after the crisis has ended. Have a detailed plan prepared by then."

"I shall."

* * *

_Junius Seven_

"Commander. We're in position, as are the _Valkyrie_, the _Einherjar_, the _Thor_, the _Loki_, the _Baldur_, the _Voltaire_ and the _Rousseau_." an operator reported.

The Commander nodded. "Patch me through to all our forces in."

"Yes sir."

"All ZAFT personnel, this is Commander Diana Kessel. As you are aware, Junius Seven is on a collision course with Earth. If it hits, the devastation it will cause will be catastrophic. We cannot allow that to happen. All team leaders, deploy your teams. We need to get the data on the colony's descent to NASA! Commander Kessel out."

"You know, I got a bad feeling about this." Ajay commented as the first of the mobile suits were deployed. "A real bad feeling."

"That does not matter." Diana replied. "We have to break up Junius Seven before it can hit the Earth. But only if NASA can't react in time."

* * *

_The Bridge of the _Baldur

"Look at the size of that think. It's huge." Dearka commented as they watched Junius Seven draw closer to Earth.

Commander Yzak Joule looked over should at his red coated second-in-command. "What do you expect? They have to be big Dearka. We live on these things, remember."

"I know that Yzak. The mission we're on is very important. I commented on the size as a reminder of just how important it is." Dearka replied, heading for the elevator.

"Just make sure the job gets done." Yzak called out. "We're running out of time."

Teams of GuAIZ Rs and ZAKUs carrying probes left their ships, heading for Junius Seven. Within a matter of minutes, the first of the teams had gotten into stand-by positions with their probes. But they weren't alone. A pair of GINNs fired on a ZAKU and two GuAIZs setting up a probe, destroying the three mobile suits before they fired on the device. Elsewhere, a pair of GuAIZs, carrying one of the Data Probes, was shot down by a GINN.

"What the... Gunfire?" Dearka said as watched a team being gunned down. "Shiho, everyone, we're under attack! Form up around the probes and defend them! Yzak, we're under attack! You better send out reinforcements!"

* * *

_The _Odin

"Commander! The Joule Team, the DeCosta Team and the Kukov Team are reporting that they're under fire!"

Everyone on the bridge was stunned. Who'd be insane enough to attack them as they were trying to shatter Junius Seven? "Send word to the fleet! Deploy all mobile suits at once! Everyone is to defend the Data Probes! Everything else is secondary to that!" Diana ordered as she headed for the elevator. "Send word to the _Minerva_ too!"

* * *

_The _Girty Lue

"What do think those ZAFT mobile suits are doing?" Lee asked as they watched the two groups of ZAFT mobile suits battle.

"I'm just as puzzled as you are." Neo replied. "Perhaps this isn't an act of God after all. Send out Treize's team and be sure to record as much data as possible."

* * *

_The _Minerva

_"Three minutes until mobile suit launch."_ Meyrin said over the intercom. _"All pilots are to board their machines and remain on standby. I repeat..."_

"I know we're supposed to assist the teams breaking up Junius Seven, but what exactly does that mean?" Luna asked Yolant as she reached her ZAKU.

"Well..."

At that moment, Luna spotted Athrun boarding the spare ZAKU. "Hey. What is he doing?"

Yolant looked over his shoulder and shrugged. "Well I guess in a support operation like this, it's better to have too many machines than not enough."

"Well... I guess he does know how to pilot a mobile suit." Luna commented.

A few minutes later, Rey's ZAKU and the Farsight had been loaded onto the catapults. The crews were going through the final launch preparations when Meyrin's voice came over the intercom. _"Abort launch immediately! The situation has changed! The 11th Fleet is battling an unknown force at Junius Seven! All units are to equip for anti-mobile suit combat!"_

"What? Meyrin! What's going on? Who's attacking Junius Seven?" John asked, trying to get a handle on the situation.

_"That's about all we know."_ Meyrin replied. _"We just detected them."_

"Damn. This rules out natural causes." John said. "The only ones that would be attacking the teams out there would be the ones who altered Junius Seven's course."

_"That doesn't matter."_ Heero said. _"The mission is still the same. Ensure that Junius Seven is broken up before it hits the Earth."_

The Core Splendor was launched, followed by the Force Silhouette, the Chest Flyer, and the Leg Flyer. After Shinn's machine had launched, the rest of the machines started launching. Soon, all of the _Minerva_'s mobile suits had been launched, heading for Junius Seven.

* * *

_Elsewhere_

"This time, the Coordinators have gone too far this time!" Gyunei shouted as they approached Junius Seven. "I'm gonna tear them to pieces!"

_"Patience. They will pay in due time."_ Treize said, scanning the area. "_There. I've located a group of ZAFT warships. Xander, Gai, you're with me. We're going to sink those ships. Reccoa, take everyone else and go after the mobile suits."_

Across Junius Seven, the ZAFT forces battled the insurgents. A GuAIZ was sliced in two by a GINN. Dearka fired his gun launcher at the GINN, destroying it. Shiho aimed her cannons at a pair of GINNs and fired, hitting both machines. A third lunged at her with a sword. But Shiho shot it down with her rifle. "Damn. These guys are persistent." Shiho said as she switched out her rifle's dead battery clip for a fresh one. "But why are they attacking us? We're trying to break Junius Seven up."

_"No clue."_ Dearka answered, combining his gun launcher and rifle together and firing on a group of GINNs. _"But this isn't really the time for questions."_

As Shiho and Dearka continued to fire on the insurgents, the Extended pilots arrived at Junius Seven. _"Spread out and destroy them all."_ Reccoa ordered.

Gyunei licked his lips in anticipation as they headed for the two ZAFT pilots. "Alright! Time for some action!"

Dearka swore as the two of them dodged the incoming shots. _"Damn. The thieves from Armory One. As if we didn't have enough problems."_

Reccoa drew one of her sabers and lunged at Shiho. The ZAFT ace threw her rifle in front of her as she pulled back, catching the blade. Shiho fired her cannons at the Blu Duel. But Reccoa dove down, evading the beams. The second the beams past her, Reccoa leaped forward, intending to cut the ZAKU apart. But just as she reached him, a burst of beams tore between the two, forcing them both back. "Shiho, you alright?" Yzak asked as he moved in front of the dark blue ZAKU.

_"Fine sir."_

Yzak took a glance at the Blu Duel. "Hmph... A new Duel model. Well, get ready punk. Cause I'm the original Duel pilot and there's no way I'm going to lose to you!"

Yzak drew his Falx beam axe and swung at Reccoa, who blocked with her saber.

At the same time, Sting launched his mobile pods, firing on Dearka as Auel swung his spear at Shiho. Dearka dodged Sting's shots before firing back his combined weapon at the stolen machine. Shiho drew her sword and clashed with the Abyss.

Other ZAKUs and GuAIZs fired on the Rosso Aegis and the Gaia. Both pilots dodged the beams and fired back with their rifles, shooting down many of the ZAFT machines. But as if that wasn't enough, a group of GINNs attacked both groups.

Gyunei laughed as he transformed his machine into its mobile armor mode. "So many targets... Who am I gonna crush first? I know... YOU!" he roared, lunging at Dearka.

But he was stopped by a single beam. "Hn. Of course you would be here to interfere with the mission." Heero said.

The Impulse, the ZAKUs, the Farsight, the Strike Raven, the Forbidden, the Calamity and Raider appeared.

Rey grunted as he and Orga fired on the Gaia. _"The Specter's not here."_

"That doesn't matter at the moment. There's plenty of enemies right here." Orga replied.

Martin glanced around at the mobile suits around them_. "Hey. Which guys are we supposed to attack?"_

"The black and purple GINNs and the guys from the last battle." John answered.

Martin smirked. _"All I need to know."_

Orga unleashed a fierce barrage from his cannons and bazooka, blowing away several GINNs. A pair of GINNs fired on the Forbidden, their beams bouncing off his defectors. Shani laughed as he fired his Hresvelgr cannon at them, the curving beam destroying them.

Stella landed on Junius Seven, transforming the Gaia into its mobile armor mode, heading for a pair of GuAIZs setting up a Data Probe. Suddenly, the Raven Striker pack slammed into the Gaia, knocking Stella back. Flay landed in front of the Gaia as the Raven Striker reattached itself. Flay drew one of her beam saber as the Gaia transformed back and drew one of its sabers, and the two clashed.

Gyunei wildly swung his beam saber-tipped arms at the Impulse. Shinn backed away from the Aegis, ducking and sidestepping his swings. A lucky swing caught Shinn's shield, cutting into it. Shinn let go of the shield as he drew his saber and swung it down on the Rosso Aegis. Gyunei ducked back, kicking the Impulse in the chest. "I gonna do what no one else has done. I'm gonna take your head! Then even Treize will have to acknowledge my superiority!"

He fired off several shots from his Scylla cannon. The beams forced Shinn back. "Damn. This guy's nuts!" Shinn said as he fired his rifle at Aegis.

Reccoa and Yzak continued their duel when Heero fired on the Blu Duel, forcing it back. "Hey! Stay out of this!" Yzak shouted.

Reccoa pulled out several of her Stiletto penetrators and threw them at Wing Zero. Heero pulled out his shield. Two of the Stilettos hit the shield while the third piece missed Wing Zero's engines. "You're not very skilled." Heero noted.

"Luck had nothing to do with it, Coordinator." Reccoa stated, firing her beam guns at the two.

Both machines blocked her shots with their shields before firing back.

Elsewhere, Athrun, Luna and Rey battled the insurgents. Luna fired her cannon, hitting two GINNs in one shot. A GINN moved behind Luna, intending to shoot her in the back, when a beam tore through it. "Thanks Rey." Luna called out.

_"Don't mention it."_ Rey replied, firing at more GINNs.

A GINN fired at Athrun's ZAKU, but Athrun blocked it with his shield and drew his tomahawk. The GINN pilot, seeing that as a challenge, discarded his rifle and pulled out his sword. The GINN rushed towards Athrun. Just as it was about to attack Athrun struck, slicing off its sword arm. But GINN pilot didn't let up. He continued to attack, trying to tackle Athrun, leaving him no choice, but to slash at the GINN's torso, destroying it.

Well aimed beams rained across Junius Seven, taking out the insurgent GINNs with surgical precision. "Sir, it's good to see you again." Diana said as she pulled her dark purple ZAKU alongside the Farsight.

_"I'm not your superior officer anymore." _John said with an annoyed tone. _"Call me John."_

"Yes sir."

John shook his head and rolled his eyes.

_"Commander! The Specter and two unknown mobile suits as well as several GINNs are heading for the fleet!"_ a ZAKU pilot reported.

Diana scowled. They needed to protect the Data Probes. But if they lost their ships, they'd have nowhere to go afterwards. "Basque! Take you team and defend the fleet. Everyone else, focus on protecting the Data Probes."

Basque nodded. _"Ma'am."_

_"You made the right choice."_ John said. _"We have to minimize the damage to Earth, even if the fleet suffers for it."_

"I know sir. I know."

* * *

_The Minerva_

"Ma'am. The Joule Team is under attack by Chaos, Gaia, Abyss and two of the machines from Bogey-1." Meyrin reported.

"What? At this rate, they won't be able to carry out the operation in time." Arthur exclaimed. "Captain, we need to attack Bogey-1!"

Talia turned to Durandal. "Chairman, I'd like your opinion on Bogey-1 at this time. Are they renegades or are they from the Earth Alliance?"

"It's difficult to say. Personally, I don't want to think of them as members of the Earth Alliance. There's no telling what would happen if such embers were ignited."

"But the situation has changed."

"Yes. If that unit admits to being a part of the Earth Alliance or somehow associated with them, then they would have no reason to fight us."

"What if they believe that we are protecting those GINNs?" Durandal mused.

"But we're not!" Arthur nearly shouted.

"It's not that obvious." Talia countered. "Image if those machines were Daggers and Alliance forces showed up. You'd think they were a part of that as well."

"Are we able to contact Bogey-1?" Durandal asked.

"There is the International Rescue Channel." Talia replied. "We might be able to contact them through that channel."

"Then please try to contact them." the Chairman said. "Tell them that we're supporting the work to break up Junius Seven before it drops to Earth."

* * *

_The ZAFT Fleet_

"You idiots! Trying to drop this on the Earth! I'll make sure you don't live long enough to see it crash!" Treize yelled, firing his beam revolvers at a group of GINNs, GuAIZs and ZAKUs, destroying them all with well-aimed shots.

_"Hey punk! Eat this!"_ Basque called out from the edge of the _Einherjar_'s catapult, firing his Orthros beam cannon.

Treize effortlessly sidestepped his shots as raced towards the ship. He fired off a single beam, piercing Basque's cannon, destroying it. Then Treize tackled the ZAKU, slamming it into the _Einherjar_'s hanger doors. "Time to die, Coordinator." Treize said, pointing his cannon at Basque's ZAKU.

Basque roared, drawing his beam tomahawk and lunging forward. Treize fired, the beam piercing the ZAKU torso and hitting the _Einherjar_'s hanger. The Bruticus exploded. Treize then aimed his cannon at the bridge of the _Einherjar_. Suddenly, he felt something. Treize spun to the left and fired, nearly hitting another machine. The machine fired its rifle, forcing Treize to leap off the _Nazca_-class. "Urgh. I'll dispose of you too!" he shouted, drawing his sword.

The machine's pilot only responded by switching from his rifle to his beam saber. The two charged forward, their weapons clashing.

Gai fired the missiles from his machine's chest at the _Thor_. Explosions tore across the side of the ship's hull. Xander approached the _Odin_, firing a barrage of missiles and beams at the warship. Explosions blossomed across its hull. "Oh? Still standing? Here! Take another barrage!"

Suddenly, a pair of ZAKUs fired on him. _"You're not sinking the Commander's flag!"_ one of the pilots shouted.

"Jerks! Get out of my way!" Xander roared, firing on the ZAKUs.

* * *

_Washington D.C., United States_

President Marie Hilson looked up at the falling colony, her eyes wide with horror. "A colony drop… but… why…?"

Fear was present in her veins, pinning her to the single spot in the Oval Office. She could not run, nor could she think straight.

Her vice-president was beside her, also feeling the same thing. Alarms were sounding, and staff was running, but only the president and vice-president were staying in place.

A Secret Service agent busted into the Oval Office, gun ready to use if need be. "Madam President, you and the vice-president need to get to the underground bunker now! Otherwise you will be killed!"

That snapped her out of her trance. Looking to the agent, she shook her head. "No, I'm not leaving here. We need to defend the planet." President Hilson replied.

"But…ma'am…how can we do that if you do not get to safety?"

She smirked at him. "We use the missiles." Becoming serious, she gave a command. "Prepare to activate Protocol 5831, Program Delta-5-A10. Prepare to fire two ICMBs!" She ordered.

The agent stared in shock before snapping to attention. "Yes ma'am!"

Vice-President Young stared at his superior. "You're not serious!"

"I am, Jason. If we don't, then the world as we know it will be destroyed." She replied.

He just nodded, knowing what the president was saying.

* * *

Suddenly, as the various combatants fought across Junius Seven the deployed Data Probes lit up, sending data back down to Earth, where NASA techs were prepared to send up the only thing that could save the Earth.

Suddenly, there was a flash that only a select few knew all too well. It was picked up by the members of the 11th Fleet, with ample warning time too.

Diana issued the order. _"All units! Retreat now! NASA has reacted! Repeat, NASA has reacted!"_

This got everyone who was in combat, both EA and ZAFT alike. Only ORB's pilots knew what she meant.

"They can't have! It's too powerful!" Flay exclaimed.

_"Well, they just did."_ John replied, knowing all too well what NASA had done.

"Don't celebrate yet." Athrun said. "We still have work to do. We need to send down more data."

Both Yzak and Dearka were surprised to hear Athrun's voice. _"What are you doing here, in a place like this, you bastard?"_ Yzak angrily asked.

"That doesn't matter." Athrun replied. "We still have to finish the job."

_"I know that."_ grunted Yzak.

Dearka and Shiho grabbed a fallen probe as Yzak and Athrun flew cover for them. "You sure haven't changed, Yzak." Athrun commented as they traveled.

_"You too."_

Dearka chuckled. _"All we're missing is Nicol and Saul."_

A group of insurgents rose up from behind a large slab of rock, ambushing the group as they reached a drill site. "Yzak!" Athrun shouted as they attacked.

_"Shut up! I'm the commander now!"_ Yzak said, as trio of GINNs surrounded him. _"Don't order me around, civilian!"_

Yzak swung his beam axe in a wide arc, slicing a GINN in half and hacking the legs off another. The third fired on him, but Yzak was faster, dodging the beams and stabbing the GINN through the head with a beam saber.

Athrun gunned down two GINNs when a third rushed him. Athrun grabbed one of his grenades. Just as the GINN reached him, Athrun slammed the grenade into the GINN's eye slit, just left of the monoeye. Athrun pulled back just before the grenade exploded, taking out the GINN. Dearka fired his gun launcher and rifle at last two of GINNs the group, destroying them as Shiho set up the probe.

The Data Probe, along with several more, activated, lighting up throughout the colony. Even more data was sent back to Earth, just in time for the missiles to adjust accordingly.

* * *

The _Girty Lue_ fired off its retreat flares. One by one, the Extended pilots withdrew from the area. Treize was the last, taking one last look at the remains of the other machine, a GINN. Treize had thrown nearly everything he had at the unit, and in the end took it out. It had been too easy to take down. Forget that white machine from ZAFT though, the Berserker of JOSH-A was a _real_ opponent. He would remember that and seek him out in later battles.

Aboard the _Minerva_, the crew let out a sigh of relief. "It looks like they finally believed us." Durandal commented.

"Perhaps. Or perhaps they withdrew for another reason." Talia said.

"Another reason?"

"That flash." she replied. "It is consistent with that of a missile launch." Talia sighed. "We must start choosing between risks… Descending with Junius Seven and getting caught in an explosive blast, or descending away from the colony." Talia turned to Durandal. "I'm sorry sir. But I'm going to have to ask you to transfer to the _Voltaire_. The _Minerva_ will descend into the atmosphere. We'll try to get as far away from the blast zone as possible."

"What?" a very stunned Arthur said. "You can't be serious Captain!"

"I don't know how much we'll be able to avoid, but if we could do something but didn't how could we live with ourselves?"

"But Talia..."

"I'm a woman of luck. You can trust me."

"Very well. Thank you Talia." Durandal solemnly said, rising from his seat. "We will meet again."

Talia saluted him. "You should get going Mr. Chairman."

Durandal turned to Cagalli. "Princess."

Cagalli shook her head. "No. I'm staying." she said, surprising the crew yet again. "Athrun hasn't returned yet. Besides, if the _Minerva_ is going to all this trouble to try and save the Earth, then I'm going with it. Besides, the _Minerva_ will have to get out of the blast radius anyway, and I am the only one who knows what NASA is up to concerning this."

"Yes, but people who hold office have other duties as well." Talia replied.

"Well, if the Representative wishes to stay, then I will respect her wishes." Durandal said before he left.

"Inform the _Voltaire_ that the Chairman is transferring to their ship. And fire the retreat flares." Talia ordered.

* * *

The _Minerva_ fired its flares as text messages appeared on the consoles of the ZAFT and ORB mobile suits. "It's time to withdraw. We're getting too close to the blast radius." Diana said. "All forces withdraw."

The survivors of the ZAFT fleet withdrew to their ships as _Minerva_ pilots and their ORB allies headed back to the _Minerva_. Shinn was heading for the _Minerva_ with them when he caught Athrun, Flay, Heero, and John getting away from the colony.

_"What are you doing?"_ Shinn asked as he rushed to their position. _"We have to get back before the _Minerva_ leaves us!"_

_"Get out of here. Don't worry about us."_ Flay replied.

_"The _Minerva_'s descent will take it away from the colony. NASA has launched a couple of missiles at the ruins."_ Athrun added.

_"But-"_

_"If you want to help, then help Heero cover us."_ John said. _"I doubt that our attackers have given up that easily."_

Beams suddenly hit the shield of Wing Zero. _"NO!"_ Sato roared as he led five GINNs towards the group. _"We won't let you stop it!"_

Two GINNs were armed with rifles and fired at the five as they approached. Shinn, Flay, Heero, and Athrun quickly blocked the beams with their shields.

_"My daughter's tombstone must fall! It's the only way the world will change!"_ one pilot screamed as he raced towards the five.

_"I don't care!"_ Flay screamed back as she headed for the GINN. _"I won't let you bring down Junius Seven! Such a tragedy must never be unleashed on the world again!"_ Drawing a beam saber, she sliced the GINN in half at the waist. _"I will not let my son die for the sake of your vengeance."_

_"His daughter? Who are these guys?"_ Shinn asked.

_"I thought so. Only one group would be insane enough to do this: the diehard fanatics of Hong Fa Wu."_ John grimly answered. _"The maniacs believe that the only way for Coordinators to live safely is to get rid of every last Natural. They're no better than Blue Cosmos."_

_"You bastard! Don't you dare compare us to them!"_ an insurgent shouted, racing towards John with his sword.

John fired a single shot, piercing the GINN. _"There is no reasoning with these mad men. Just shoot them down."_

Heero was engaged with two other GINNs, intent on preventing them from falling farther from the ship even more. _"Your plans of destruction for Naturals will have to be put on hold, permanently!"_ the Natural snarled as he fired the Buster Rifle at the two GINNs. One dodged, but the other was not so lucky. The blast grazed the side of the machine, the energy causing the GINN to explode from circuit overload. The first GINN ran at Wing Zero, but Heero was ready for it. Beam saber out, Heero slashed the GINN across the torso, causing it to explode in a fireball.

Athrun pulled out his tomahawk as Sato swung his sword at him. _"Have you forgotten about the innocent lives thrown away here? You're living in a damn dream world! Laughing with the butchers who caused this! You bastards!_" Sato ranted as he clashed with Athrun. "_The cowardly successors of Clyne have deceived us! They've corrupted and weakened ZAFT! Can't you see that? Hong Fa Wu knew it all along! The only truth path for Coordinators is one that he had chosen for us!"_

Images of the Bloody Valentine, Wu's madness, and GENISIS and the devastation it brought. Wu's legacy to the world. More insane, irrational hatred…Athrun realized that these guys were truly just like Wu…He growled to himself. These guys were beyond hope. His ZAKU's foot slammed into the GINN, forcing it away from him. "You…BASTARD!" Athrun shouted as his SEED exploded. "There is no way that we will let you kill everyone just for your sick and twisted ideals! WU IS DEAD! GET USED TO IT!"

The other remaining GINN lunged at Shinn with his sword. Shinn sidestepped the GINN and hacked off its sword arm. But that didn't stop the pilot. The GINN jumped Shinn, wrapping its legs around the Impulse. A moment later, the GINN self-destructed, throwing Shinn back.

_"Shinn!"_ Athrun called out.

At that very moment, a large chuck of the GINN hit the shield, denting it.

* * *

_The Minerva_

"Initiating Descent Sequence Phase Two." Arthur said as the Minerva's wings folded and it entered the atmosphere.

"What about the Impulse and those other machines?" Talia asked.

"I can't locate them, ma'am" Meyrin reported.

"No... Athrun!" Cagalli called out.

* * *

_"They'll suffer this time! The Naturals will feel our wrath!"_ Sato screamed as he grabbed the leg of Athrun's ZAKU, pulling him down. Growling, Athrun used his tomahawk and tried to slice off the arm of the GINN. But his aim was off, and he could not. Athrun wasn't about to die though, and was prepared to slice off the leg of his machine to escape.

Suddenly, Shinn appeared, slicing the leg off with his beam saber for him and kicking Sato to the surface of Junius Seven. Shinn grabbed the ZAKU and headed for the _Minerva_ alongside Heero, John, and Flay. At that point, there was a large explosion of light and heat that was far too powerful to be just a mere explosive warhead.

Athrun, Shinn, Heero, Flay and John fought to reach the _Minerva._ _"Dammit! Those lunatics delayed us too long."_ John said. _"We aren't going to make it."_

_"No. We can make it."_ Shinn said, pushing the Impulse to the limit.

But gravity's pull was too strong and the five fell away from the ship.

And towards the planet that was now behind them…

* * *

_Somewhere in the Marshall Islands_

"Now hurry up everyone." Lacus calmly said, helping Caridad, Chris, and Reverend Malchio usher the kids into the shelter under the church.

"What is it? Where are we going?" one child asked.

"Oh I know! We're going shopping, aren't we?" a little girl asked.

"Aw... But I want to play." another said.

Lacus smiled. "No. We're not going shopping. There's a storm coming. So we need to go under the church to wait it out." she said sweetly.

Chris was already in the bunker, leading several children into it.

Lacus glanced at the deck of their house, expecting Kira to be there. But he wasn't. The smile dropped from her face. "Kira?" she called out, searching for him.

Lacus quickly spotted him. Kira was standing on the beach, watching the first flash light up the night sky.

* * *

Chapter is complete. NASA unleashes the most powerful missiles ever created on the ruins of Junius Seven while the ZAFT forces try to stop the descent of the colony. But what repercussions will this have for NASA's leaders in the next war?

Anyway, you all know this, but I will put it anyway. Constructive criticism is appreciated as are reviews. Flames, AKA, hate-filled/spamming reviews, **_WILL_** be reported and/or deleted depending on if they are signed or not.

Anyway, read and review! ^^


	46. Phase 6: End of the World

**New chapter is up is up! Note: I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Ian, Saul, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, Treize Zabiarov, Gyunei Ridden, Reccoa Schnieder, or the machines listed for the remaining members of the Le Creuset team, as they are Akatsuki_Leader13's and are used with his permission as such. I also do not own Xander Alexis, as he belongs to Mordalfus Grae. Nor do I own Matrin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Tao White, Akira, Nishikama, Nisha and Taikyu Itsuno, Preisdent Marie Hilson, Gai Tatsuni, NASA/NAZAFT, the Presidential Murasame, the Raptor, the Dax, Wing, Traverse, and Z.A.M. Gundams, and the colony of New Juneau.**

**Wolf's child: Glad you like it. :3**

**Just a Crazy Man: Yes, it does.**

**Animefan0216: No, no upgrade to the Exia here. Sorry. ^^'**

**CT7567Rules: You will see all soon. :3 And I am glad you like the transformable MS's. XD I love them to so why not, right? XD**

**nbj- Inconsistent Guest: You obviously won't stick with a single guest name, so I will just call you '**inconsistent guest'** from now on.**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :3**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in and leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in and leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, then feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

* * *

_Cosmic Era 72. One and half years of grim war between Earth and PLANTs ended following the space battle at Jachin Due. The two sides forged a peace treaty amid the ruins of Junius Seven. A place of unprecedented tragedy during the war. The former enemies pledged themselves to work for mutual understanding and to make every effort possible to maintain peace. As a result, the world once more on the path of stability._

* * *

Phase Six: The End of the World

The _Minerva_ moved away from the explosive radiation zone. "Entering Phase 3 momentarily." Arthur said before turning to Talia. "If we wait any longer, we won't be able to avoid the radiation zone ma'am."

"But we still can't locate the Impulse and the other machines." Burt said. "They may still be in the line of fire."

"Athrun..." a concerned Cagalli whispered.

They couldn't wait any longer. Talia knew that. "Activate Descent Protocol." Talia ordered, causing Cagalli, Meyrin and several other members of the bridge crew to look at her. "Our mission is to prevent our ship from getting hit by the radiation waves. We are not equipped to handle such a high amount of radiation." she explained. "Begin Descent procedure."

The _Minerva_ started to turn away from Junius Seven as the engines fired at full, the wings folding inward.

The first thrust fired, forcing the ship away from the radiation zone. The next one forced the _Minerva_ into a more stable descent trajectory. All around them, small pieces of the colony that were barely larger than a mobile suit fell to Earth.

As the _Minerva_ continued its descent, hundreds upon hundreds of fragments fell all around it. Almost all of of the smaller ones burned up before they reached Earth. But there were still numerous debris fragments falling to Earth.

* * *

_The Marshal Islands_

"Haro! Haro! We have a problem!" Haro squawked.

"What's coming?" one of the scared children asked.

"Are we going to have to be down here forever?" another added.

Lacus smiled for their sakes. They had brought the children down to the shelter underneath the church. It was deep enough underground that they would be protected from anything that hit on or near the island. "Everything will be just fine. We'll only be down here for a little while." she answered, trying to reassure them "All of this will be over very soon."

Chris gripped the seat he was in, wondering just how big those debris chunks were.

Suddenly, the shelter began to shake from the impacts of nearby debris. Many of the children began to whimper and cry. Lacus hugged the two children sitting next to her. "Everything's alright. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Lacus then opened her mouth and began to sing, hoping to calm the children with it.

* * *

_Beneath the veil of starry sky_

_As cold as winter's darkest night_

_It's there you'll sleep, silent and deep_

_You're all alone_

* * *

_ORB_

"Where's mommy?" a scared, red-headed child whispered. "Are the roks gonna to get her?"

"She's fine Alexander." Elizabeth Dante replied reassuringly to her nephew, who was sitting on her lap. "She's in space. The falling rocks can't reach her there."

The young child hugged her and buried his face into her shirt and cried as they felt and heard the first impacts. Murrue Ramius and Andrew Waltfeld sat next to them, in the shelter under the mansion. It had been predicted that ORB would receive limited damage from the meteorites of Junius Seven and the aftermath of the impacts. But it was better to be safe than sorry.

Liz looked up at the ceiling as she rubbed Alexander's back. It saddened her that former home and the grave of her parents and so many of her friends was falling to Earth and causing so much death and destruction.

She just hoped that Chris was safe in the Marshal Islands.

* * *

_A single prayer's soft melody_

_Across the lonely silent fields_

_A little light begins to shine, it shines on and on_

* * *

_The PLANTs_

"Damn... How bad do you think it's gonna be?" Saul Kessel asked, glancing over his shoulder as the TV reports came in.

Behind him, Nicol Amalfi sat at his piano. "Bad." the green-haired young man replied.

Without saying anything else, Nicol started to play a sad, mournful song on his piano as the fragments of Junius Seven collided with Earth.

* * *

_I watched you as you so peacefully dreamed_

_You laughed like a child, happy and care free_

_It's so familiar and yet so far_

_That's the future is promised for you and me_

* * *

_Location Unknown_

In the safety of his bunker, Djibril watched events play out, on the wall of screens before him. He sat in his chair, stroking the head of his cat. Behind him stood an aide. "Let this event usher in the beginning of a new world." she said, her transfixed on the screens.

Djibril smirked. "Yes. A new world... A world ruled by us."

* * *

_One day on a green and shining morn_

_One day we will finally make through_

_Cause in this sky, so dark with winter_

* * *

_The Voltaire_

Chairman Durandal, along with two FAITH operatives silently watched the devastation wrought the fragments of Junius Seven. "Have you taken care of things?" Durandal asked, his eyes never leaving the screen.

"Yes sir." one of the agents replied. "However, if someone is smart enough and determined enough, they could figure things out."

"True. But once the war begins, people will focus on that, not Junius Seven. And when the war is over, no one will care." Durandal said.

"Yes sir."

"Where there any problems at Armory One?"

The agent paused for moment before answering. "No sir. No problems."

* * *

_We still have to believe that it's true_

_Fields of hope..._

* * *

_Washington D.C._

President Hilson watched the remaining pieces of Junius Seven fall to Earth from the Joint Operations Center beneath the White House, the pieces not being much bigger than a mobile suit.

Her eyes held a look that was one of grim determination and slight frustration as she gazed at the screens showing the surface getting pummeled by the debris.

The first ICBM had done the job, but it was not over yet. The second half was falling as well, hence the second launch. The flash of the second ICBM making contact lit up the sky above the surface. It was a done deal.

She knew that she would face criticism from many world leaders and from the PLANTs for destroying a war memorial, but given the situation, there had not been much of a choice anyway. They would just have to deal with it. It was either blow up Junius Seven's remains, or let countless lives be lost.

* * *

_A gentle touch  
A loving brush  
Those things I still search for_

* * *

_New Juneau_

People could only watch as the ICBMs did their job, unable to believe that it was really happening. The twin flashes lit up space as the colony halves were destroyed in one blow each.

"The PLANTs will hate us for sure…" a man murmured. His words were never truer than right then and there.

* * *

_A prayer in  
A melody  
It goes on and on_

* * *

_Pentagon_

John Keller watched as the pieces fell to Earth, the massive five-sided, five-ringed building sealed up with all the military personnel that could fit inside unable to get out. It was for their own protection though, even though some of the soldiers hated it.

* * *

_I sing the prayer's  
Soft melody  
One vanishes, one dies_

* * *

_NASA missile silos_

The missile silos were sealed off to prevent people who were not allowed onto their grounds from trying to get inside. The workers at the silos were locked inside, as the bunkers would protect them from the falling debris.

Still, they could see what was going on outside via screens and T.V. monitors, and it was not a pleasant sight to see.

* * *

_And all in all  
It starts again  
A never ending cycle_

* * *

The debris fell onto the plains, wiping out the crops that had been growing there as well as some of the wildlife.

In the mountains, craters were made by the impacts, sending snow tumbling down the sides of the mountains into the towns and cities below.

* * *

_One day on a green and shining morn'  
Through all the long nights we've been fighting for  
There lies a place  
Far from disgrace  
Where we won't have to hide from the world again_

* * *

_Joint Operations Room_

The president could hardly believe what was going on as the reports began to come in. At least a hundred million lives were no doubt lost, but compared to the near billion lives that would have been lost, it was a small amount.

Not acting would have cost countless more lives, so she did not regret her decision, not even one bit.

* * *

_Now there lies a deep love within my heart  
A yearn to protect you and keep you warm  
It's all familiar and yet so far,  
It's made for the peace of mind  
Fields of hope_

* * *

The planet was impacted again and again, but not by huge fragments of the destroyed colony. Rather, they were small in comparison to what they could have been. And it was all thanks to NASA…

* * *

_Natsukashiku mada tooi  
Yakusoku no nohara  
Fields of hope  
Fields of hope_

_Fields of hope…_

_Fields of…hope…_

* * *

For just over an hour, pieces of Junius Seven rained down upon Earth. Towns were devastated by fragments. Any fragment that hit land, also threw up clouds of dust into the air. The fragments that hit water sent tidal waves crashing onto nearby coasts, destroying homes and buildings that were on the water.

But compared to how big those could have been, they were small. And that was the only good thing that had happened.

* * *

_Minerva_

"Captain, we can switch to aerodynamic control now." Arthur said.

Talia nodded. "Unfold the wings." she ordered. "Take it easy, Helm."

"Unfolding wings. Switching to atmospheric flight." the helmsman said.

"How are communications and sensors?" Talia asked.

"Offline ma'am. The fragments are interfering with the radio waves." Meyrin reported.

"Try using laser and thermal sensors. We have to find the Impulse and the other machines."

"Do you think they made it down safely?" Arthur asked.

"After the missile impacts, I have no idea." Talia admitted. "But I hope so."

* * *

A burnt and badly damaged ZAKU Warrior fell through the sky. "I guess you can't go through reentry without a booster." Athrun said as he tried to keep the ZAKU in the air for as long as possible. He had fought off that guy, and now he was going to die anyway…

_"Athrun! Athrun!"_ a voice called out on the radio.

"Shinn, is that you?"

_"Yeah! It's me."_ Shinn replied. _"Hang on, I'm on my way."_

"No, don't! Even the Impulse doesn't have enough thrust to stop two machines from falling." Athrun warned.

_"Who ever said he was alone?"_ another voice said as the ZAKU suddenly shuddered.

The Impulse and the Farsight had grabbed onto the ZAKU, slowing its descent_. "Why do you always have to be so noble and say stuff like that?"_ an annoyed Shinn asked.

_"I don't know. I find that being too noble is better than being someone like you with no nobility at all."_ John commented.

_"Hey! I'm-"_

"Have either of you seen Flay and Heero?" Athrun asked, interrupting the two.

_"I'm right here."_ Flay said, bring the Strike Raven alongside the three mobile suits.

_"You really made a rash decision."_ Heero noted as he too came alongside the four machines.

_"Now let's just hope we find the_ Minerva_, or failing that, land."_ John said. _"Otherwise, we could be in for some serious trouble."_

At that very moment, a flare flew up ahead of them. The _Minerva_ was ahead of them.

* * *

_The Minerva's Hanger_

_A Short While Later_

Cagalli ran through the hanger, heading for the damaged ZAKU as Athrun climbed out. "Athrun!" she called out as she reached the ZAKU, gasping for air.

But before she could say anything else, there was a loud explosion and the ship rumbled briefly. "What was that? What's happening?" a worried Vino asked.

"Those were shockwaves. They've just gone all around world." Rey quietly explained.

"Have we been able to reach ORB?" Flay asked Cagalli as she approached the group, a slight, desperate tone was noticeable in her voice.

"No. The dust is blocking any and all signals we send." she replied. "Don't worry. They would have taken refuge in the shelter before the debris hit."

"It doesn't matter much at the moment." John said as he joined the group. "We need to get you to ORB, Cagalli, immediately. You and your father."

"But why? I mean I know I need to get to back to ORB after what's happened, but I-"

"No. You don't understand. Junius Seven falling to Earth was not an accident." John replied. "It was dropped intentionally. The men and women piloting those rogue GINNs were also the ones that caused Junius Seven to fall."

His words surprised everyone save for Athrun, Shinn, Heero and Flay. "What?! But why? Why would anyone want to do that?" Cagalli asked.

"They were supporters of Hong Fa Wu's beliefs and soldiers that lost their families at Junius Seven." John answered.

"Despite our actions, a lot of fragments still fell to Earth." Athrun grimly added. "We couldn't stop it completely." He paused for moment. "Even though it was caused by a small group, all anyone will remember is that they were Coordinators."

John let out a tired sigh. "This could be the second-coming of the Bloody Valentine. We _need_ to get you back to ORB as soon as possible."

* * *

_Aprilius One_

_An Hour Later_

"Shanghai, the Gobi Desert, Quebec, the North Atlantic. There's no way of telling how high the death toll will rise. A horrific tragedy. But I'm afraid the worst is yet to come." Durandal said to the young woman sitting on the couch behind him. "Are you prepared to help me?"

"Yes Chairman." the girl replied. "I will do whatever you need me to do."

Unseen by the girl, Durandal smiled.

* * *

_The Minerva_

The _Minerva_ had landed on the Pacific Ocean. The crew was taking break before they started repairing the _Minerva_. Many of the younger crewmen were on the outer decks of the ship, admiring the vast ocean before them. Above them, the gray dust clouds still lingered, but there were a few beams of sunlight were poking through the cloud cover.

Flay was on the deck as well, leaning against the hull and staring at her locket in her hand. "Hey. Who are those two?" Luna asked, startling Flay. "Is that your baby brother?"

"Ah... No. That's Alexander. ...My son."

Luna's eyes widened. "Oh... Err… Sorry."

Flay shook her head. "Don't be. He was one of the few bright spots of the war for me."

"You fought in the war?"

"No. Not really. I was on Heliopolis when it was attacked and I ended up on the _Archangel_. For a time, I served on that ship. And that's where I fell in love with Alexander's father." Flay replied. "He's the former pilot of the Raven and now pilots the Exia."

"Is that him?" Luna asked, pointing to Chris's picture.

"Yes. But he almost never got to meet his son. He almost died at Jachin Due."

"Oh."

* * *

One Week After the Battle of Jachin Due

ORB

_A group of people gathered before the make-shift memorial. It had been made from a damaged head of an ORB Astray that had been destroyed during the Battle of ORB. Written on the side facing the people were the words, 'In memory of those that fought and died in defense of ORB, and all those that died in the Bloody Valentine War.' Below those words, numerous pictures of fallen ORB soldiers and the members of the ORB government that sacrificed themselves with Hali. But alongside their pictures, were pictures of the other fallen soldiers. Crewmen and pilots from the _Archangel_, the _Eternal_, the _Kusanagi_, the 7th Fleet and the 11th Fleet that had died in the battles in space were there._

_General Samuel Dante approached the memorial and turned to face the group. "For us, the storm has passed. The war is over. But let us never forget those who journeyed into the howling dark and did not return. For their decision required courage beyond measure, sacrifice, and unshakable conviction that the war could be ended without one side wiping out the other. As we start to rebuild our homes, a monument shall rise here. A memorial to heroes fallen. They ennobled all of us, and they shall not be forgotten."_

_Samuel then turned and saluted the memorial. "Present arms!" the sergeant of the seven-man Honor Guard called out._

_The soldiers lifted up their rifles and fired off three volleys. As they fired, some people started to walk towards the memorial, leaving flowers next to photos of friends of loved ones. Miriallia placed a bouquet of flowers underneath Tolle's photo. Behind her, stood Dearka. Miri's eyes began to water as she put a hand to her mouth, trying to suppress her sobs. Dearka put his hands on her shoulders, comforting her as they walked away._

_Flay was about to approach the memorial, when a hand grabbed her shoulder, stopping her. It was Kira. "Flay... I'm sorry about what happened." he said, unable to look her in the eyes as his eyes watered. "If I had-"_

"_It wasn't your fault. Nisha died saving your life, my life, Chris's life and our child's life." she said, fighting back her own tears. "He would have done it regardless of you could have done."_

_The two cried as they embraced each other in hug._

* * *

"Don't be. He lived, but at the cost of another friend." Flay said.

Nearby, Cagalli and Athrun stared out into the ocean together. Cagalli turned to Athrun. "Are you all right, Athrun?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Athrun replied.

"You had me worried." Cagalli admitted. "You never told that you were going out in a mobile suit."

A small smile crossed Athrun's lips. "I should have told you about that. Sorry."

"No, that's alright. I know how skilled you are." she said. "And to be honest, I'm a little glad that you did go out and help. Thanks to your efforts and the efforts of everyone else, the damage to the planet was lessened considerably."

To Athrun, it didn't feel like much of an accomplishment. There had still been a great deal of damage done to the planet from the fragments. And if the people of Earth found out that it wasn't an accident, and that a group of Coordinators were responsible, things would only get worse.

"Excuse me, may I speak with Athrun alone?" John asked as he approached the pair.

"Ah... Yeah, sure." Cagalli said before she walked away from the two.

"Take a walk with me Athrun." John said as he started heading back inside the ship, Athrun following after him. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine." Athrun answered.

"Really? Well if I were you, I don't think I would be." John commented. "The men that caused this incident were fanatics to your father's friend's cause. In many ways, this was his legacy." He turned his head to Athrun, but Athrun found himself unable to meet his gaze. "You are not your father's friend, Athrun. Nor are you responsible for his actions and the consciences of his actions. Stop blaming yourself for what he did and stop thinking that you could have reasoned with him and stopped his madness. He had chosen long before the Bloody Valentine. That tragedy only spurred him on. Stop doubting yourself and walk your path, Athrun, the path that you and your father chose. That's all I can say."

Athrun nodded. "I know that. My father wouldn't want me to think I was. I just feel like I could have done something to stop him, that's all. Dad would have wanted me to. What he did, he did on his own. I couldn't change his mind even if I wanted to. All I can say is I tried to stop him. Nothing more."

John smiled at the response.

* * *

_The Girty Lue_

Neo entered the lab of the third generation Extended. Dr. Mikhail Andras was there, humming as he typed on a small terminal. Next to him, Treize was heavily strapped onto a table. His limbs were bound with multiple leather straps while metal clamps were holding his head in place. A number of wires were connected to his skull from the terminal. Treize's appeared lifeless, aside from his steady breathing and the occasional facial and hand twitch.

Unlike the second generation of Extended, the third generation could not handle repeated mental modifications. It would weaken and corrupt their programming. And if that happened, no one could control them. But they still required regular inspection and maintenance on their programming every couple of weeks. And the only person allowed to do that was their creator, Dr. Andras.

The doctor finished his typing in a command and pressed the Execute button. Treize let out a gasp. The life returned to his mismatched eyes. After a few seconds, a look of pure hatred filled those eyes. "I will...make...you...pay..." he rasped as he weakly struggled against his bonds. "I...will...kill...you..."

Neo was taken back Treize's words. "What did you do to him?"

"I forgot that this is your first time watching one of these sessions. Don't worry. In order to properly inspect his programming, I must deactivate it. This is just the last shreds of the original subject's mind." Andras commented, his eyes focus on the computer screen in front of him. "But he serves his purpose. As do the others. Now you said that 1304 was having the same difficulties with the ZAFT forces, correct?"

"Yes."

"That just won't do." Andras said, once again typing away. "1304 is the zenith of all the research and experiments we have done. There shouldn't be anyone capable of stopping him."

"Well, Treize and the others-"

"Treize. You know I've wondered why you gave the EX-C Units names." the doctor said, interrupting him. "They are weapons, nothing more. Giving them names is pointless. They exist only to fight and kill. They are true soldiers. Devoid of self-preservation, mercy, fear, regret and morals. But they are not human. Hence, there is no need to be treated as such."

Truthfully, Neo hated this man. He had seen firsthand Dr. Andras's final test for the EX-C Units. A free-for-all between the thirty-four EX-C Units. The battle lasted for just over two hours, when there were only three bloody Extended left. He had asked Andras why, if they had thirty-four completed Units, they were subjecting them to such a trial. Andras replied that the drugs that sustained them were too expensive to keep more than half a dozen. He believed that the final combat test was the effective way to 'cut the chaff from the wheat while burning the chaff at the same time' as he had said. Neo knew that man had done even worse over the years as well. "It's easier to call by a name rather than by their numbers all the time." he answered.

Andras typed in a final sting of commands and pressed Execute again. Treize let out a loud, pained scream as he thrashed against his bonds. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he stopped screaming, collapsing into unconsciousness. "There. Maintenance and readjustments complete." he said, unstrapping Treize from the table.

A moment later, Treize's eyes opened. "Sirs." he said, sitting up. Seemingly unaware of what just happened. "Is my maintenance complete?"

"Yes 1304. Put your mask back on and return to your quarters for rest. Report any anomalies immediately" the doctor ordered.

Treize grabbed his mask from a nearby table and left the lab. "Do not worry, Captain Roanoke. 1304 will be operating at maximum performance from now on." Andras said.

Neo raised his eyebrow, though it was hidden behind his mask. "Even against that new white machine and our former machines?"

"Yes. Even if those three are still alive and piloting those machines, I guarantee that he'll bring you that heads of those machines." Andras replied with a smirk. "After all, he is my greatest work of art. My masterpiece."

* * *

_The Minerva's Bridge_

"What's the status on communications?" Talia asked.

"We still can't get through ma'am." Burt answered.

Talia sighed. "The status on the repairs?"

"Within a few hours, we'll be able to head to Carpentaria for full repairs." Arthur replied.

"May I make a suggestion Captain? ORB is closer then Carpentaria." John said. "The Chief Representatives need to get back to ORB as soon as possible. The ORB government would be grateful for personally returning the Chief Representatives. Enough so that they would be obligated to repay you by helping out with repairs on the _Minerva_."

Talia nodded, seeing the logic in his suggestion. "I agree. Arthur, when the repairs are complete, set course for ORB."

* * *

_Washington D.C._

President Hilson looked up at the sky, now freed from the underground room that had protected her and the rest of the staff of her administration. The debris had finished falling, finally coming to a stop an hour later.

"There will be those who want revenge on the PLANTs for this." John Keller said as he looked at the president.

"That may be true, but we will put a stop to it." The U.S. leader replied.

Keller just frowned. "You do realize that people in both the PLANTs and on Earth will demand to know why you ordered the destruction of a war memorial, right?"

The president just huffed once. "If they want to know why, then I will tell them why. Even if they do not like the answer, they will just have to accept it was either that, or have the human race wiped out." She replied. And it was true.

Truthfully, President Hilson had not wanted to do it, but in the end, there had been no choice. And if given the chance, she would do it again with no hesitation.

"The new war has begun…" she murmured as she looked up at the PLANTs.

Defense Secretary Keller nodded. "Yes. There will no doubt be retaliation against the PLANTs, even when they were not responsible. We need to be prepared to counter that. And there is only one way we know how…"

His superior nodded. "Agreed. Prepare another two missiles for launch in case the PLANTs are targeted for nuclear attack."

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

_Missile silos_

The techs ran around as two massive ICBMs were raised out of the underground silos. Steam hissed as the elevators came to a stop, the sunlight gleaming on the newly cleaned and polished metal body of the missiles.

This was just another routine launch, even though the circumstances surrounding it were not. The PLANTs were being targeted again, and nuclear missiles were the only way to counter other nukes. And NASA had those in abundance.

People looked over the missile systems, checking everything from the NJCs to the nuclear fusion reactor powered engines. The warheads were armed, and the engines were cleared for usage as well.

This was one thing that they could not mess up on.

* * *

_New Juneau_

Aki' looked on as the large dust clouds rose on the planet below the colony. They were not as large as they could have been, and it was all thanks to NASA's reaction in time.

Still, a large number of lives had been lost, which was not good, no matter what the situation. That was the one thing that NASA had not wanted to happen, even when they blew up the remains of Junius Seven.

_'Destroying a war memorial…who would've thought _we_ would so such a thing for once?'_ he mused as the large impact zones began to become visible.

But what he did question was why use nuclear ICBM missiles instead of the Meteor Breakers that the PLANTs had developed. Considering that the breakers would have left even larger pieces in the wake of the colony's drop, it seemed to make more sense though, considering that ICBMs were designed to wipe out _cities_, which is what the PLANTs were.

That seemed to make more sense, and it reduced the number of lives lost as well. But at a price. Anytime an ICBM was used, it was one less weapon that the United States had.

And that was a price that needed to be accepted.

Still, it did not sit well with him even though it had been necessary.

And that was what bothered him the most.

* * *

_PLANTs_

Chairman Durandal stared as he watched the flashes occur over and over again on the recorded clips. There was no mistake. Those _were_ ICBMS…

But who had launched them?

"Sir." A ZAFT officer said as he saluted upon entering the room.

The chairman faced him. "What is it?"

"We have just analyzed the trajectory of those missiles that had been launched and back-tracked it to the nation that was responsible." The ZAFT officer replied.

Chairman Durandal nodded at the information. "Good. Did you find out which nation blew up the remains of Junius Seven?"

"Yes sir. But it is not one that you would expect." The officer replied.

"So? I'm pretty sure I can handle the news." The chairman purred. "After all, I _am_ the chairman of the PLANTs."

"Yes, well, you see, the nation responsible was NASA, mainly the United States, sir. That was where the two missiles came from." The officer said nervously.

Chairman Durandal's eyes widened at the information. "WHAT?! _NASA_ blew up a _WAR MEMORIAL?!_" he practically shouted.

"Yes, sir." The officer replied meekly.

"I see. Please leave. I need some time to think this over." The chairman ordered.

The officer saluted before leaving, the door hissing shut as he did so.

Now alone, Chairman Durandal could think. The news about NASA using nuclear missiles to blow up the remains of Junius Seven was a problem, mainly because it threatened the whole process.

_'It shows that they are not afraid to use them. And that will be a problem, not just for the Earth Forces, but also for us as well.'_ He noted as the flashes played out over and over again.

That mere fact chilled him. President Hilson did not mess around when it came to certain matters, and that was one of them.

_'But maybe I can use that to my advantage...'_ the chairman mused as he ran a hand down the monitor.

* * *

_NASA, Washington D.C._

Many people were in the press room of the White House, awaiting the President of the United States to answer their questions.

She entered with Secret Service agents beside her. Once she was at the podium, many cameras flashed and President Hilson found herself bombarded with questions.

"Madam President. Why did you blow up Junius Seven's remains?"

The President looked at the male reporter from MSNBC. "It was to prevent a large loss of life to the planet and to prevent a massive extinction of the human race."

"What will the PLANTs think of this?"

A female reporter had shoved her mike forward. The president did not even waver. "That will be dealt with in time. For now, the cleanup of the impact zones takes priority." She replied.

"Did you even consider the repercussions of your decision?"

Another reporter had his mike towards her face.

President Hilson then addressed him as well. "While I did consider the consequences of my actions, it was the better of the three options that had been presented to me at the time."

"If you had the chance to do it again, would you?"

Another female reporter had her microphone up. The president just merely nodded. "Yes, I would. While I do regret blowing up a war memorial, I do not regret my orders I gave."

While she spoke to the reporters, it was being broadcasted all over the PLANTs and the planet, not mention all over NASA as well.

* * *

_Minerva_

The crew had gathered in the lounge while the captain was watching from her room.

_"I do not regret giving the order to blow up Junius Seven's remains. While it was unfortunate that NASA had to resort to such a maneuver, it had to be done, otherwise there would have been many more lives lost."_

_"What about the Meteor Breakers that each ZAFT ship carries? Wouldn't those have done the job as well?"_

The image of the president shook her head. _"No. It wouldn't have been as effective. True, the colony would have been broken up, but the pieces would have been larger than what they were when we did it using just two nuclear missiles. More lives would have been lost as a result of those larger pieces as well."_

* * *

_ORB_

_"What about the cause of the descent? Was it natural, or was it a colony drop?"_

_"As of this moment, we have no information as to whether it was natural or intentional. We will update you as more information comes in."_ the president replied.

_"How can you be sure that this will not happen again?"_

President Hilson just looked back at the image of the NASA flag. _"New Juneau is on high alert for anymore attempts to drop colony remains onto the planet. And if there are any more, we will act accordingly."_ She replied.

Many people were watching the NASA leader speak about her actions, but all were stunned that they had even done such a thing.

* * *

_Marshal Islands_

Reverend Malchio listened as the president explained her actions. The fact that she had resorted to destroying a place that was sacred to the PLANTs was disturbing, but it spoke much about her character as well. She put the needs of the planet before the needs of the PLANTs. And that was something that very few were willing to do.

Still, he did not agree with what she had done, even if it _was_ to save the planet…

* * *

_AEU_

Lord Djibril was angered that the U.S. President had managed to stop his plans before they had even been put into action.

_"HOW DARE SHE!"_ he snarled as he slammed his fist down on the arm of his chair.

The LOGOs leader was beyond pissed, and it showed in his eyes very clearly.

His plans to wipe out the Coordinators and make the world his, all stopped by one lousy order, an order that had resulted in _TWO ICBMs_ being used to wipe out the remains of Junius Seven.

"So...she is not afraid to use her nation's greatest weapons to her advantage…" he mused. Maybe things could be salvaged still, and he knew how to get her onto his side.

If she would do so, that is…

* * *

_Two sides yearned to have the power of NASA on their side, a power that would decide how the war would go. But neither sought it out to bring peace. Rather, it was for destruction, and for genocide…_

* * *

_Washington D.C._

The president sighed as she looked up at the sky.

She knew that soon, she would be bombarded by requests to join either the Earth Alliance or the PLANTs in the coming war. But NASA was not a nation to be used, and she had to stand up to the pressure that would no doubt be put on her for her actions.

President Hilson knew that if she did not choose a side, both would attack her nation and the others in the alliance, but if she did choose a side, then she could face the wrath of either group when in battle.

It was going to be hard, but she needed to make her decision soon.

Otherwise the war would end very, very badly…

She then looked back at the stack of reports on her desk, only to stare at the images on the top one.

It was an image of the ZAFT GINNs near the ruins of Junius Seven. Some were purple and black while others were the familiar colors of the 11th Fleet and the new machines of that new ZAFT warship. Her eyes narrowed. Why were there ZAFT GINNs not involved in the operation in that image?

Then, her eyes went wide in shock and realization. What if those _GINNs_ had been behind the drop? What would the world say when this got out?!

President Hilson groaned as she realized what this meant. Again, NASA would have to try and defend the PLANTs, and this time they would appear to be supporting terrorists! "Great…" She murmured as she let her head fall down onto her desk.

Then, a thought crossed her mind. What if _NASA_ conducted an investigation into why the colony fell? This way, they could say who did it without appearing to support the PLANTs, and therefore, be claimed of supporting terrorists.

President Hilson reached out to her phone and called the Pentagon. "Get me the Pentagon. I need an investigation launched into why Junius Seven fell." She said as the line transferred to the defense HQ of the nation.

_"President Hilson."_ Defense Secretary Keller said as he came on the line. _"What do you need?"_

"I need an investigation launched into why Junius Seven fell. There were some ZAFT GINNs shown in the photos from New Juneau, and they were not involved in the operation to break up the colony's remains." President Hilson replied at once. "I think they may be behind it, but I cannot be too sure. Can you get that started?"

_"Yes, ma'am."_ Defense Secretary Keller replied.

"Good. And get me the results as soon as they are done."

_"You got it."_

As the line went dead, the president looked back at a book that held an image she had seen once before, but only in history. _'If this means what I think it means, then a new war is coming. And if a new war is coming, then the Earth Alliance will be eager to attack the PLANTs. At least the leadership will, anyway.'_ She thought as her eyes narrowed. _'If the PLANTs are called undeserving of existing again…Well, we can't have that, now can we? With the new Prime Minister in Britain, there is a chance that the world will begin to toss its Blue Cosmos/LOGOs puppets out of power. And if that happens, then we will need to get ready for what is to come next.'_

She grabbed that book and opened it up, only to scoff at the idea of the once mighty UN being neutral now. Slamming it back on the shelf, the President of the United States had an angry look on her face. _'This war is going to again be over genetics, as well as a potential misunderstanding. The world has no political forum in which to talk over these things and come to and understanding as well as an agreement. We _need_ that kind of forum again! But the old forum for that is long neutral, never again to re-enter world affairs. There's nothing that can be done…unless…'_ She looked up, just as an idea began to form in her mind. It was crazy, yes, but it just might work…

President Hilson then turned and walked over to the phone again. Once more, she called the Pentagon. _"What is it, ma'am?"_ Defense Secretary Keller asked again.

"Do you know if we have the original founding document for after World War II?" She asked, making Keller perk up over the phone.

_"As far as I know, yes. I believe it is still stored at Fort Knox, why?"_

"Get it down here to the White House as soon as possible. Also, get me Prime Minister Warson and President Gonzalez on the lines as well as Vice-President Young."

_"Yes, ma'am."_

As the line closed, the president looked out at the sky above the White House.

A smirk was on her face. _'If the EA wants a new war, well, they'll get one, alright, but not one they expect to go their way…'_

* * *

Chapter is complete. NASA does the unthinkable, blowing up a war memorial, which leaves the rest of the world reeling. The president tries to explain her actions, but what consequences will this have for NASA in the future? The _Minerva_ lands safely on Earth, but just how will they react to the news that NASA had done something they would never do?

Anyway, you all know this, but I will put it anyway. Constructive criticism is appreciated as are reviews. Flames, AKA, hate-filled/spamming reviews, **_WILL_** be reported and/or deleted depending on if they are signed or not.

Anyway, read and review! ^^


	47. Phase 7: Land of Confusion

**New chapter is up is up! Note: I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Ian, Saul, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, Treize Zabiarov, Gyunei Ridden, Reccoa Schnieder, or the machines listed for the remaining members of the Le Creuset team, as they are Akatsuki_Leader13's and are used with his permission as such. I also do not own Xander Alexis, as he belongs to Mordalfus Grae. Nor do I own Matrin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Tao White, Akira, Nishikama, Nisha and Taikyu Itsuno, Preisdent Marie Hilson, Gai Tatsuni, NASA/NAZAFT, the Presidential Murasame, the Raptor, the Dax, Wing, Traverse, and Z.A.M. Gundams, and the colony of New Juneau.**

**Just a Crazy Man: That is true. :3**

**Animefan0216: True, it might be tradition to upgrade a Gundam, but here, it will not be. I don't follow the usual aspects of a series unless I want to. ;3 Keeps my readers on their toes. :P**

**CT7567Rules: I didn't realize I did Halo 3 stuff for a flashback. O.o And yeah, things will calm down with that investigation. :3 NASA ain't the typical alliance, as they don't act the way others want them too... and I mean that literally for Durandal. XD Don't worry, your OC will come in soon. I just need to figure out when... ^^'**

**vgu - Inconsistent Guest: You obviously won't stick with a single guest name, so I will just call you '**inconsistent guest'** from now on.**

**Titanic X: Glad you like it. :3**

**Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in and leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in and leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, then feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.**

* * *

_Cosmic Era 72. One and half years of grim war between Earth and PLANTs ended following the space battle at Jachin Due. The two sides forged a peace treaty amid the ruins of Junius Seven. A place of unprecedented tragedy during the war. The former enemies pledged themselves to work for mutual understanding and to make every effort possible to maintain peace. As a result, the world once more on the path of stability._

* * *

Phase Seven: Land of Confusion

_Aprilius One_

Chairman Durandal took the podium and took a deep breath as the crews went through the final preparations for the broadcast. The worst of the dust clouds had scattered from the skies of Earth, allowing them to broadcast to Earth as well as the PLANTs.

"Ready Your Excellency?"

Durandal nodded. "Yes. I am ready."

"Then we'll begin in five…four…three…two…one…"

"Greetings people of ZAFT and Earth. I have come to you because of the terrible tragedy that has befallen the Earth. There are no words that can convey the sorrow that we are all feeling right now. The fall of Junius Seven has been an accident of unprecedented proportion. The ones who did this were not just merely terrorists, but also followers of the late Hong Fa Wu."

Just then the screen cut out.

Static suddenly filled the screens behind the Chairman. Durandal stopped. "What? What's happening?" he demanded.

"It appears that someone has hacked into the broadcast, sir." a technician answered.

"Who?"

"Unknown. But we are trying to stop them."

A young dark haired woman appeared on the screen, clad in the standard NASA political wear. _"People of Earth, a terrible tragedy _has_ befallen us. Cities have been devastated. Countless lives have been lost. A horrible, horrible accident... Or at least that's what Chairman Durandal of ZAFT wants to believe. The truth is that this was not an accident, but an attack on us; a deliberate attack on the planet!"_

Durandal's eyes widened. This was Djibril's doing. It had to be. Right?

Images of black and purple GINNs setting up Flare Motors appeared on the screen behind the female speaker. _"This footage from New Juneau captured what happened. Now undoubtedly, Durandal will claim that these are nothing more than terrorists, working on their own. And that may be true. However, I would like to announce that NASA will be conducting an investigation into how this could have happened as well. The footage from our own colony will be released to the press and media of the world. We would like to point out though, that these people were working _alone_. There is no way that the PLANTs could have dropped the colony otherwise. The footage we will release is unedited, raw footage, so it has not been altered in any way. Please note that there are ZAFT machines also working on the break-up of the colony, so ask yourselves if the PLANTs were really behind it or not. Do not go with what the Earth Alliance says alone."_

Durandal paled as he heard those words. Now he knew who this was. It was _THE U.S. PRESIDENT_. Only she would have the guts to do such a thing. He had to stop her now. "Cut the feed! Now!" he shouted.

"We've already tried, sir. It's no good. Someone has hacked our systems. We can't stop them. The link is just too encrypted."

"_Analysis of the footage sent in from New Juneau clearly revealed the large group."_ She said. _"But I can tell that ZAFT will no doubt be accused of this attack, even though they tried to help stop it. Ask yourselves this, people of Earth. Would ZAFT have dropped the colony, only to stop it? Or was it just the work of a few people?"_

Durandal scowled. He had an idea of where this was heading.

_"Do not believe everything the EA tells you. Once we get the results of our investigation, we will release them to the world to read."_

The president was very clear on her words. _"Now, I express regret that NASA had to destroy a war memorial, but if we didn't, then more lives would have been lost. I have no doubt in my mind Chairman Durandal had plans to use Meteor Breakers to destroy the colony's remains. So, if Durandal was willing to destroy a war memorial as well, what does that say about the PLANTs? Do not blame the Coordinators as a whole for the drop. Blame only those terrorists, those _people_ who did the drop."_

This bothered the chairman quite a bit. _"So think about who _really_ saved your ungrateful asses next time you want to dis the Coordinators for an act that was probably not their doing at all!"_

* * *

_The Minerva_

Many of the _Minerva_ pilots and crew members had been watching the broadcast from the ship's lounge. All of them were shocked by what had just happened.

"Whoa… Do you think that what she said was true?" a stunned Vino asked. "That they will release unedited footage?"

"No. It's just anti-Coordinator propaganda." Rey answered immediately. "The governments of the world always edit things to go their way."

"Does that mean there's going to be another war?" a voice asked from the back of the lounge.

It was Shani, the only ORB pilot present, was sitting in a corner of the room, his headphones on his ears. Shinn scowled at him. "Bet you would love that. More people for you to kill."

"Shinn, that's enough." Rey said, trying to prevent another fight.

Shani didn't say anything, unlike Shinn. "You and your teammates just love to kill people. Another war would be just another excuse for you to start killing people again." he ranted. "People like you make me sick. You don't give a damn about the people you've killed."

But Shani didn't react, slipping back into his own world, which only infuriated Shinn further. Shani didn't care what he said. To him, most people were loud and annoying, or like Azrael. Only the angel was different everyone else. Because she was the only one that had ever truly cared for him.

"If only your parents could see you now. You're nothing but an animal."

"Shinn! That's enough!"

Shani's eyes widened. His parents? A forgotten memory from his past resurfaced at that moment.

"_No daddy! Please! I'll do better! I promise!" he pleaded with his father._

_He had disappointed him again. No matter how hard he tried, he could never please him._

"_It's clear that you are a failure. And I will not tolerate a failure for son." his father said, his voice filled with disgust._

"_But I can do better!"_

"_No. I have a better use for you. You're going to become something useful, one way or another."_

Shani screamed, clutching his head in agony, startling everyone. Red filled Shani's vision. Before anyone could react, Shani jumped up, his hands wrapping around Shinn's throat as he let out an animalist roar. Shinn fell backwards, Shani landing on top of him, trying to strangle the life out of the ZAFT pilot. Rey, Vino, Yolant and some other crew members raced to Shinn's side, fighting to pull the green haired young man off of him.

But that was easier said than done. Shani had a powerful, vice-like grip on Shinn's throat. It didn't look like they would be able to overpower Shani in time…

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around Shani's neck and head, locking him in a sleeper hold. Shani let out a rasping gasp, his grip on Shinn loosening. Rey and Yolant managed to pry his hands off Shinn and John pulled Shani off of him. Shani fought against John as he struggled to breathe. Pretty soon, Shani's struggling lessened as he started to pass out. His body went limp and John broke the hold. John then carefully set Shinn on the ground. "Okay… What happened? What did you say to him?" he asked, his eyes locked on Shinn.

Shinn was still panting, recovering from the attack. "Me? He's the one that attack me!" he exclaimed as he stood up.

John shook his head. "I know Shani. He isn't violent unless he's in the cockpit or provoked." he explained. "He wouldn't attack you unless you started it. So out with it, what happened?"

"Shinn was yelling at him after he asked if there was going to be a war." Rey answered. "I apologize for his conduct, but your pilot was clearly out of line as well."

John nodded. "I know. I'll throw him in the brig for a while and see if that calms him down." He turned to Shinn. "You, help me carry him."

"What? Why should I?"

"Because I said so, Shinn." Captain Gladys said as she stepped into the lounge. "And last time I checked, I am your superior officer."

Shinn grumbled. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. What was that?" The captain asked.

"Yes ma'am."

John lifted Shani up, holding him by one side. Shinn reluctantly grabbed Shani's other side, and the two headed for the brig.

"I want to talk to you about Shani and the others. I know you blame them for what happened at ORB. And they do bare some of the blame for what happened. But they are victims as much as you are." John said as they headed towards the ship's brig.

"Don't give me that garbage. They aren't victims. They're monsters."

"How little you understand." John commented. "Let me ask you this, what are they, Coordinators or Naturals?"

"Naturals obviously." Shinn replied.

"No. They aren't, nor are they Coordinators."

"That's impossible."

"You see, sometime either before the war started, or sometime just after it started, they were collected by Blue Cosmos and sent to a facility somewhere on Earth. There, horrible things were done to them. Horrific procedures were performed on them. Procedures designed to strip them of their humanity and turn them into living, anti-Coordinator weapons."

"You're lying."

"I'm not. When we recovered them, they were suffering harsh withdrawal from powerful and highly addictive combat drugs, which had been designed to boost their abilities and to ensure their loyal through their addiction to the drug. However, prolonged exposure to the drugs had cause serious damage to their bodies, particularly their nervous systems. For months, they were in a state of pure agony as doctors fought to keep them alive and to help them recover. But even after that, they're still suffering from what was done to them."

"You see, one of the procedures they were subjected to, robbed them of their memories. They don't know where they came from, if they have family still out there or even if the names they're using are their real names. In many ways, they're worse off than you Shinn. They have no idea who they were, beyond small bits of memories, nor do they truly belong with Naturals or Coordinators. All they know is combat and the only place they seem to belong, is in the cockpit of a mobile suit. Frankly, that's no life to live."

"Trying to get me to pity them?" Shinn asked, his voice filled with contempt.

"No. I'm trying to get you to _understand_ them, not pity them." John replied as they entered the brig. "Not everything is black and white, Shinn. If you view the world only in black and whites, then enemies and war will always be there, lying around the next corner."

Shinn didn't say anything as they opened a cell and placed Shani inside. They then closed and locked the cell. "Are we done here?" Shinn rudely asked.

John sighed. The kid was stubborn. He'd give him that much. "Yes. You may leave."

* * *

Within hours of the broadcast, people all over the planet began question the ZAFT forces that were providing aid to them. Many tolerated their help until they were no longer in any immediate danger or Alliance forces arrived. Then they would lash out the Coordinators. But there were those that wouldn't even allow that. They attacked the ZAFT personnel, throwing rocks and debris at them as they yelled and ranted at them. In numerous cities that hadn't been devastated by the event becoming known as Break the World, anti-ZAFT riots started, demanding that Durandal and ZAFT answer for the event.

"Wonderful. Simply wonderful." Djibril said with glee, watching events unfold from his bunker. "As predicted, the people are up in arms against Durandal and the Coordinators. And we have the terrorists to thank."

"Indeed. Soon the war will begin again and the foundation of humanity's future will be set."

Djibril raised up a glass of wine, swirling the contents of the glass. "We're already preparing for the attack on the PLANTs themselves, including our new Peacemaker Force. Soon the PLANTs will be finished."

* * *

_Washington D.C._

President Hilson put her head on her hands as she looked out the window. Already, there were anti-ZAFT riots occurring despite her words to not blame Coordinators as a whole for the drop. People were lashing out and claiming they were behind it.

Even in America, such things were happening. Well, maybe not anti-ZAFT riots, but the citizens were demanding answers as well. She had assured them that answers would come soon, and that had seemed to satisfy their hunger for an answer.

Now, she had bigger issues to worry about. With the American public calmed and issued a deadline for the investigation to be released upon completion, she could now focus on how to handle the anti-ZAFT riots and how to placate the Earth Alliance.

_'How can we placate the Earth Forces _and_ keep the PLANTs from being targeted for attack? That is the real issue here…'_ She mused before she sighed. Even if they had no real way to satisfy the EA's demands for answers, she knew that she could keep the PLANTs from being attacked by using ICMBs. That was why she had two on stand-by for launch, just in case…

* * *

_Durandal's Office_

Durandal sat down at his desk, rubbing the bridge of his nose. That broadcast had been an unexpected surprise.

He had expected a rebuttal from the Earth Alliance after his speech. But he hadn't expected them to interrupt his own speech. Worse, it was _NASA_ that had done it. That alone was troublesome. And they had the tech to hack into the PLANTs as well.

Durandal activated the terminal in his desk. He needed to contact ZAFT's Intelligence Agency. The face of a dark skinned man appeared. Nathaniel Abaddon, the Director of ZAFT Intelligence. "Mr. Abaddon, I trust you were watching that broadcast."

He had black eyes and his head was completely hairless. There was a large scar covering much of his left cheek. _"Of course, Chairman. I've already assembled a team to investigate how they managed to interrupt your broadcast."_

"Good. Also, I want you to learn all you can about the NASA alliance. It seems that Djibril still has a few surprises. And I wish to be ready for as many of them as I can."

_"As you wish, Chairman Durandal."_

Durandal cut the line, ending the conversation. The PLANT Chairman sighed. This whole situation had given him a headache. He had hoped that after Break the World and the speech he had written would cause many of the people on Earth to turn against the idea of war. But now, those hopes were dashed. Djibril had effectively changed things in an unexpected way. And worse, he wasn't even sure what else that man may have planned as well. He didn't even _know_ if NASA _was_ working with the LOGOs leader. He knew he would have to be more careful from now on.

* * *

_Onogoro Island_

_ORB_

The _Minerva_ slowly entered the dry-dock. Once the mighty ship was position, the locks slid into place and the water quickly drained. Captain Talia, her XO, Arthur, Cagalli, Athrun, Flay, Lord Uzumi, Heero, John, and Rey were the first to disembark from the ship, greeted by a crowd of ORB officials.

"Cagalli!" Yuna Seiran called out as the group climbed the stairs.

"Yuna." Cagalli said as the man embraced her in an unwanted hug.

"Thank goodness you're alright." he said. "I was so worried about you."

Cagalli squirmed in the man's grasp, trying to break free while Athrun looked away from the scene. "Ah… Um… Sorry about that."

Unato Seiran stepped forward. "Yuna, I know how you must feel, but this isn't the place. You're making the ZAFT officers uncomfortable. Not to mention the Berserker of JOSH-A."

Cagalli finally managed to break free from Yuna, who backed away from Heero, who happened to be next to her. "Unato Ema Seiran." She said, approaching the Prime Minister.

Unato and much of his entourage bowed their head. "Lady Cagalli. Lord Uzumi. Welcome home." Unato greeted. "It's a tremendous relief to have you back, safe and sound.

"Forgive us for being absent during such an important time. What is damage assessment?" Lord Uzumi asked.

"The coastal areas have been hit hard by large waves, but fortunately, ORB itself was spared." Unato answered. "I'll give you the full report when you return to the capital building."

Talia stepped forward, alerting the ORB officials of her presence. As they turned to her, she saluted. "I am Captain Talia Gladys of the _Minerva_."

"And I am the Executive Officer of the _Minerva_, Arthur Trine." Arthur added, saluting as well.

"I am the Prime Minister of the ORB Union, Unato Ema Seiran." Unato said, returning the greeting. "I speak for all of us when I express our gratitude to all of you for safely returning the Chief Representatives to us."

"Thank you, but it was the least we could do." Talia replied. "Though it was unexpected and unintentional, we regret putting Representative Athha in danger and taking her and her father away from their homeland during such a crisis. Furthermore, we offer our condolences for the tragedy that has happened."

"We appreciate your kind words." Unato said. "I'm sure that you and your crew are exhausted from what you've been through. Please, feel free to allow your crew to disembark and receive some well-deserved rest."

"Thank you."

Unato turned to Lord Uzumi. "We should make our way to the meeting now." He told the older man. "There are urgent matters that you need to be informed of."

"I understand." Lord Uzumi replied.

Yuna wrapped an arm around Cagalli's shoulder, pulling her with him, Lord Uzumi, and his father. Cagalli's head turned over her shoulder, looking back at Athrun. Yuna noticed this and turned to Athrun as well. "Oh, thank you for keeping the Chief Representatives safe, Alex."

Athrun bowed his head. "You're welcome." He said as politely as he could to the man with his arm on Cagalli.

"We won't need your report until later, so why don't you take some time to rest too." Yuna suggested as he led Cagalli towards the limo.

Athrun sighed as the two entered the limo and left. "You know, you really should just tell her, before she does something stupid." Flay whispered to him.

Athrun's cheeks reddened. He opened his mouth to say something when a child's voice shouted out, "Mommy!"

A tall, well-built but old ORB officer emerged from the crowd, a red-haired toddler riding on his shoulders. "Alex!" Flay called out, rushing past the others.

The man pulled the child off of his shoulder and set him down. The child half-walked, half-waddled, towards his mother. "Oh, I missed you so much." Flay said, lifting her son up in a hug, relieved that he was fine. "I was so worried about you."

"Me too mommy." The child said, burying his head in his mother's chest.

Rey could tell that this child was…different.

Flay turned towards the _Minerva_ crew members, Alex still in her arms. "This is my son, Alex." she explained. "Say hello Alex."

Alex did say something, but it wasn't hello. "Don't like you." he said, glaring at Rey. "You're a bad guy. You hurt mommy and nearly took daddy away."

Rey raised an eyebrow questioningly at the child while Flay's face was a mixture of shock and embarrassment. "I'm sorry. He's never been like this before. He's normally quite friendly." she apologized. "Alex, say you're sorry to the nice man."

"No!" Alex yelled, vigorously shaking his head. "He's a bad man."

Flay sighed. "I'm sorry. He's a very stubborn child sometimes."

"Don't worry about it." Rey said.

"Why don't you take the little tyke home Flay?" John suggested. "I'll see to it that your machine is unloaded."

Flay nodded. "Thank you."

"Murrue and Andy are waiting for you two in the lobby. They'll take you home." Samuel said. "I'd take there myself, but I suspect that Cagalli will need my help at the moment."

"I understand."

Samuel nodded and started walking away. Flay, still holding Alex, left as well, heading for the lobby, Heero beside her. It didn't take them long to find Murrue and Andy. "Hello Flay. It's good to see that you made it back alright. You too Heero." Murrue greeted.

"Yeah. This little tyke's handful to take care of." Andrew added.

"Says the man who gave the kid a sip of coffee." Murrue said in annoyed tone.

"Hey! How was I supposed to know that the kid would be bouncing off the walls for hours like that?" An embarrassed Waltfeld replied.

Flay laughed for a moment. "It's a relief to see that ORB survived undamaged and that you're alright. Even after NASA blew up Junius Seven, I was still worried that ORB had been hit hard by the debris." she admitted.

"Yeah. We all made it through alright. Though Malchio's orphanage was badly damaged by large waves from the impact." Andy explained. "Don't worry. No one was hurt. Kira, Lacus, Chris, and the children are staying with us for the moment. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not."

"Then we should be heading back. You coming, Heero?"

"Hn."

The five of them left, heading to where Murrue and Andy had parked their car. It didn't take them long to find it. Andy took the driver's seat with Murrue taking the seat next to him. Flay strapped Alex into a child seat in the back seats before taking the seat next to him. Heero sat beside her.

"Alex, why did you say that Rey hurt me and nearly took away your father?" Flay asked as they headed home.

"Cause I saw it. He hurt you and nearly took daddy away." Alex answered.

Flay shook her head. "No, you're wrong. That wasn't him. The wicked man that did that was someone else, and he's gone."

"No. That's him with no..." Alex paused, searching for the word with his limited vocabulary, his hand waving across his face. "White face."

At that moment, Rau Le Creuset's sneering, masked face entered Flay's mind. "You mean mask?"

Alex nodded.

Flay was stunned. She had never spoken of Le Creuset to him. So how could her son know that? And she wasn't the only one. Heero, Andy, and Murrue were shocked his words as well. "Alex, how did you know that? Did someone tell you about the bad man?"

"No. I saw it."

Now the four of them were dumbstruck. Alex was describing a man that had died before he was born. Someone that he had never seen or heard of. "But how? That all happened before you were born." Flay asked, deeply worried about her son's words.

Alex shrugged. "I saw it." he repeated.

"When?"

Again, her son shrugged. "Don't know. Just did."

* * *

_The ORB Union Parliament Building_

"What?! You're preparing to sign a treaty with the Advanced European Union?!"

Cagalli was shocked beyond belief as was Lord Uzumi. The ORB Union had always striven to maintain their neutrality since the formation of the nation. Their pledge of neutrality had been part of the foundation of the ORB Union. To turn their backs to it, especially in a time like this, was wrong. "How could you be even thinking about that at time like this? Our priorities at the moment should be providing relief and support efforts to the areas that have been hit the hardest by this disaster!" Cagalli said, protesting the very idea of a treaty that would break their neutrality.

Unato opened his mouth to speak, when someone cut him off. "It's simple, Lady Cagalli. These people are cowards." Samuel Dante said, entering the room, a file folder in his hands.

Yuna rose from his seat. "General Dante, this is private meeting involving the heads of the ORB government. A military officer has no right to be here."

Samuel stepped up to the young man, towering over him by a head. "I am one of Lady Cagalli's advisors. Therefore, I able to be present at any meeting she is a part of." he answered, staring Yuna down. "If you have a problem with that, I'm sure we can _discuss_ this out in the hallway."

Yuna gulped and wisely took his seat. Samuel cleared his throat and continued to speak. "I know all of you quite well. When the Earth Alliance invaded ORB during the last war, all of you were among the first to flee, while the leaders of ORB stayed behind and laid down their lives for ORB and its people. In fact, I know for a fact that the Seirans tried to force the ship they boarded to flee the moment they stepped on board, which would have stranded hundreds of people."

Many of the officials hung their heads in shame or bore expressions of guilt, while those that didn't glared at those who did with disgust and contempt. "All of you disgust me. You would just turn you backs on ORB's ideals, the same ideals that many of your fellows died for."

"But if we don't sign the treaty and a war breaks out, we could find ourselves under attack without any allies." one minister argued.

"And Lord Uzumi fled! How can that be a true patriot of ORB?!" another snarled. Said leader just looked down in shame.

"But if a war does break out and we have signed a treaty with the AEU, we will be forced to fight someone else's war! ORB ceases to be a neutral nation and instead becomes a prime target for the enemies of the Advanced European Union. But then again, what do you people care. Unless ORB itself is attacked, a war would be meaningless to you all. You won't be fighting in it. Your children won't be fighting in it. But these children will." Samuel grabbed the contents of the file folder and threw them across the table. They were photos of young men and women that were serving in ORB's military. "If you sign that treaty and a war does break out, these are ones that will fight and die in it. Remember these faces well. They may not be your children, but they are all someone's child. They and their families deserve your consideration. Personally, I have seen enough children die because of our mistakes."

"Enough, General Dante. Your rhetoric will not solve anything." Unato said. "ORB isn't the only nation being approached by the AEU. Every nation that is not a member of the Earth Alliance has been approached by them, and nearly all of them have joined the Alliance already. If we don't sign the treaty, we run the risk of being attacked by them in a war, or by ZAFT. And we all know how that will play out."

"You forget that if we join the Alliance and war does break out with ZAFT, we'll become a major target for ZAFT. Not to mention NASA has not been approached by them either." the General replied.

"But we would have the support of the Earth Alliance military to aid in our defense."

"True. But you're advocating that we should shackle ourselves to Alliance like everyone else? The people of ORB and our nation's technology becoming tools for the Alliance in a war? Our military and Morgenroete would be little more than slaves to the Alliance."

"You're mistaken. The Alliance wouldn't do that to us." Yuna argued.

Samuel laughed. "Are you saying that the same Alliance that would attack us again if a war broke out, to take our Mass Driver and Morgenroete, wouldn't exploit us if we joined them? You can't be that stupid, Yuna."

"What-I-I How dare you?! I am not stupid!" Yuna shouted at Samuel. "The Alliance wouldn't do that to us, because we'd be their allies!"

Lord Uzumi shook his head. "He does not need to waste his breath on explaining the power structure of the Earth Alliance and how we would fit in such a structure to someone who is too mentally immature to grasp such concepts." Samuel just nodded in agreement.

"I said enough!" Unato yelled, hitting his fist on the table. "We're trying to have a serious discussion on an important matter. If the two of you are going to continue like this, then I'm going to have to ask you both to leave."

"What?! But father-"

"Be quiet, Yuna, unless you have something important to say."

Samuel sighed. "I'm sorry. But I am passionate about preserving ORB's neutrality." He paused, staring at the people sitting at the table. "I know you are all afraid that ORB will become another target if another war breaks out. But the problem is, we will always be a target in this world. That is our curse for the technological and economic wealth we have. If we are neutral, neither ZAFT nor the Alliance would have a valid reason for attacking us. But the second we sign that treaty with the AEU, or a treaty like that one with any other major nation, we become a major target for their enemies of that nation. And if the nation we sign a treaty with is stronger than us, they can easily strong arm us into following their orders completely. Lady Cagalli, Lord Uzumi, all of you, we must stay neutral to preserve our independence."

"A very rousing speech, General Dante. The late Lord Hali would be proud." Unato said.

"Someone must speak for him and those who believed what he believed and can no longer speak."

"Fair enough. Allow me to give the counter argument." Unato said. "Lady Cagalli, at the moment, ORB stands alone. If something happened to our nation, the other nations would only help us if they felt generous. But if we sign the treaty with the AEU, they would be obligated to help us. And Lady Cagalli, you were concerned about lending aid to the areas that have been ravaged by debris. Signing the treaty would make such operations far more efficient. Now, we all know that only a handful of Coordinators were responsible for the fall of Junius Seven. But there are many who have suffered horrible losses. They are angry at the Coordinators and wish to see someone pay for what has happened. We have the largest Coordinator population on the planet aside from NASA. If we don't sign the treaty, there are many who would seek to attack us just because of the Coordinators within our nation. And despite what General Dante claims, our independence will be preserved. All we will gain is an ally to help us in times of need."

"No." Lord Uzumi said. "We would not gain such an ally in the AEU. If any nation were to provide us with the aid we need in hard times, it would be NASA. They are the one we should be allying with, not the AEU."

Cagalli knew that all the arguments had merit. While Cagalli wanted ORB to remain neutral, like her father believed, at the same time, Unato had brought up some valid concerns about staying neutral.

"Chief Representative Athha, what do you think we should do?" Unato asked.

Cagalli hesitated. She couldn't decide. Cagalli could see the three options leading to ORB burning in the fires of war once more. "I…I need some time to think things over."

Unato sighed. "Lady Cagalli, we are willing to give you time to consider the matter, but you need to come to a decision soon. This meeting is adjourned."

The men and women that were attending the meeting, slowly filed out, leaving Cagalli and Samuel alone. "Thank you for your words." Cagalli said.

Samuel shrugged. "I was merely doing what I could. Unfortunately, your father's aide's sacrifice has left us in a difficult position." he admitted. "Most of his supporters sacrificed themselves alongside him, leaving only political enemies left. People like the Seirans, who are little more than the spineless worms of AEU. But I doubt my words had little impact on things. Most of those people in there support the Seiran family. They won't turn from them."

"What do you think I should do?"

"You already know what I think. It's what you believe as well. You're just afraid of what would happen." Samuel replied. "But you have to decide for yourself. You cannot be the leader of a nation and not make the hard decisions. In all the years I have known your father, he made many hard choices, just like you are now, and every time, he came to his decision based upon what he felt was best for the people of ORB. Follow his example. Do what you feel is best for ORB and its people. That's all you can do. Besides, he is not in a position to lead right now. So only you can."

"I just don't know which to choose. I can see how all three decisions can lead to ORB suffering again." Cagalli admitted.

"As can I. Like I said Cagalli, ORB will always be a target in the current world. I believe that we are safest if we are neutral. Until the day that all the nations of Earth can come together in equal and fair alliance of nations. Only then, can we discard our neutrality. But that is what I believe. You follow your own beliefs, Cagalli. No fit leader can lead their nation by doing everything that others tell them to do. You must think about this decision carefully. I could be wrong, but so could Unato. You must come to your own decision."

* * *

_The Allster Estate_

"I see…" a concerned Lacus said as Flay finished explaining what happened in space. "The media has already been reporting similar stories."

After Flay had returned home, she, Lacus, Kira, Liz, Heero, Chris, Murrue and Andy had gathered to discuss what had happened, and what was going to happen now.

"And then there was _that_ broadcast not too long ago." Andy added.

"The one with the President of NASA? You mean where she announced the investigation going on?" Flay asked.

"Yeah. Her broadcast seems like it has gotten a lot of people angry at ZAFT, but it's too soon to tell." Andy replied. "It's looking a lot like how the last war started."

"She most likely did not intend for that to happen. She also did say that people had to consider it was only a few who did it." Heero noted.

Flay nodded. "John called it the second coming of the Bloody Valentine."

"I'd have to agree with him. It's a reversed version of the Bloody Valentine." Andy paused for a moment. "At this point, war will be the likely next step."

"There has to be something we can do." Liz said. "We just can't let another war break out. We have to do something.

"Bah! Get off!" Alex shouted from another room. "Mommy! Birdy won't get off my head!"

Alex stumbled into the room, Birdy sitting atop his red hair. Flay, Lacus, Liz, Heero, Murrue, and Andy couldn't help but laugh, momentarily forgetting about the current state of the world. Only Kira and Chris didn't laugh. Their minds were elsewhere.

_"Tell Liz that I love her, and tell her and Aki' that I'm sorry."_

Though Kira would never admit it to anyone, he didn't like to be around Alex. Not because he hated Alex, but because the child always reminded him of his friend, Nisha, and the guilt that always accompanied those memories. Every time he looked at Alex, he saw Nisha, and ultimately his death, saving his life from Rau.

-_Flashback-_

_Rau aimed the Providence's rifle at the Raven and fired. Kira rushed in front of the damaged Raven, blocking the beams with the Freedom's shield._

_But that was what Rau had counted on. A pair of DRAGOON pods rose up from behind the Freedom and the Exia. They fired at the Freedom. Kira turned but it was too late. There wasn't enough time for him to dodge or block the shots..._

_Suddenly, the Z.A.M. Gundam slammed into the Freedom, pushing it out of the path of the beams. The shots tore through the Z.A.M. Gundam's upper chest and right arm, severing the arm. The machine's phase shift flickered briefly before it shut off. Electricity surged in and around the hole in Z.A.M. Gundam's chest and the stump of its right arm. The machine had fatally damaged. There was one outcome to this._

"_NO!" Rau snarled._

"_Why..." was all that Kira could muster._

"_I told you before. I was fighting to bring back Aki'. But that seems kind of moot now. I was also fighting to protect my friends." Nisha answered, surprisingly calm considering what was about to happen. "I want you to do something for me Kira. Stop this bastard and tell Liz I love her and tell Aki' and her I'm sorry."_

_"Nisha…" was all Chris could say._

_Before Kira say anything, the Z.A.M. Gundam exploded. Kira managed to scream as the fireball consumed the Freedom._

-_End Flashback-_

"You know, your father has the same problem." Liz said, distracting Kira from his memories.

"Birdy loved to nest on his head as well."

Liz knelt down to pull Birdy off her nephew's head, only to have Alex's hands reach up and grab Birdy's legs, holding him place. "No. Birdy stays." he said before turning around and leaving, the mechanical bird chirping as they left.

"He still shows signs of being different from his father." Lacus commented as Liz took her seat.

"Yeah. I could never have that thing sit on my head the way it does his." Chris laughed.

"I've caught him several times playing with Birdy." Flay quietly replied. "You might have a fight on your hands Kira if you try to take Birdy away from him."

Kira nodded, but didn't say anything.

Andy cleared his throat. "Back to the matter at hand, there's little we can do to stop things at the moment. A group of Coordinators dropped Junius Seven on the planet, intending to wipe out all the Naturals on Earth. And there are a lot of people here on Earth that are hurting and angry because of what's happened. Nothing we say or do will change that. If a war is going to break out, we won't be able to stop it from happening. The best we can hope for is that we can end this as quickly as possible, before a possible genocide can occur."

"Agreed. Stopping it is the only way to prevent another war like the last one." Heero replied.

Kira couldn't help but wonder why this was happening. Hadn't been enough suffering in the last war? Hadn't enough people died? The insidious words of Rau Le Creuset entered his mind again.

-_Flashback-_

"_This is our destiny! People knew where they were heading when they choose to walk this path!"_

"_Justice and faith, ignorance and escapism! They never learn! They never listen! We have reached the end of that path. There's no way to prevent it now! Mankind vanquished, at last! Just as they deserve!"_

"_This is a world where people's hearts are filled with hatred, where fingers have no purpose other than to pull triggers! What do you believe in, and why do you?"_

"_Of course! After all, people can only understand what they've experienced! Why torment yourself saying 'eventually someday'?! How long have you been fighting with your mind clouded by that brand of sweet poison?!"_

_-End Flashback-_

Had Rau been right along? Were they all trapped in an endless cycle of hatred and war? No. There had to be a way to end the cycle and bring about a true peace. Truthfully, Kira didn't want to fight again. He had enough of it in the last war. But if there was no other choice, he would take up his sword again and find a way to end the war as soon as possible.

* * *

_New Juneau_

The colony was bustling about the way it normally did, but there was a different air about the inhabitants this time. It was one of unease.

NAZAFT officers were on high alert for what was a highly likely nuclear attack on the PLANTs.

And this time they would not fail in preventing the attack…

Akira made his way into the hanger where his machine was stored. Mechanics were working on restocking the missiles as well as the head-mounted guns. He looked up at the face of the Wing, wondering if there was any way to prevent war from coming again.

He could recall the ZAFT commander, Rau Le Creuset, talking to him during the time he was waiting to be assigned to a unit when he was in ZAFT.

-_Flashback-_

_"You see, war is caused by human nature." Rau said as he looked at the new red-coat. "Anytime people encounter someone who is better than them, envy will arise, and then that envy will become jealousy, and that jealousy will become hatred afterwards."_

_Aki' just looked at him. "Is that why Naturals hate all Coordinators?"_

_"Yes, Akira. That is why those Natural cavemen hate us Coordinators."_

_-End Flashback-_

Akira gritted his teeth as he recalled Le Creuset's betrayal of ZAFT later on. He closed his eyes as memories of his time as a NAZAFT pilot came forward.

-_Flashback-_

_Akira looked at the famed NAZAFT personnel, who were now wandering around the colony that he now also called home. It had been three weeks since the end of the war, yet there was still an air of tension in the colony._

_The NAZAFT blue coat drifted into the center of New Juneau, where there were technicians working to get his machine repaired. He looked up at the Wing, his good, unbandaged eye locking onto the face of the Gundam. Tears began to flow down his face as he recalled his cousin's sacrifice._

_"Why…WHY DID HE HAVE TO DO SUCH A THING?!" Aki' cried as he slammed a fist against the wall._

_The NAZAFT commander looked at him. "He was your family member. And he knew that Coordinators are the same as Naturals. We all are human, even if some of us are genetically healthier and stronger than others."_

_Aki' looked at his superior, a glare coming from his one visible eye. "What does that have to do with the fact that Naturals hate Coordinators?!"_

_"I see you spoke with Rau Le Creuset, right?"_

_He just looked down. "When I was a red-coat in ZAFT I did…"_

_"Well, war is not caused by human nature alone. Envy will become jealousy, and jealousy will become hatred, but that alone does not cause war. War is caused by many other factors other than mere hatred and jealousy." The commander said as she looked up at the American flag in the colony's hanger. "War is also caused by the need to expand for military reasons, for energy, for materials and other minerals, etc. No one thing can be called the cause of war. Even in this era of war, it was not hatred towards Coordinators that caused the war. It was a multitude of factors that the rest of the world is unwilling to acknowledge. And that is because of Blue Cosmos."_

_Akira just looked back up at the Wing again. "So… will we ever become peaceful once more?"_

_"Only if the United Nations comes to see that their decision did not help anyone except for Blue Cosmos…" The commander replied before looking back as well…_

_-End Flashback-_

When would the wars end? Akira did not know…

* * *

_Undisclosed location_

The old buildings were now overgrown with vines and large trees that hid them from view. How anyone could still see them was a mystery, but most people did not care anymore. The empty flagpoles were just a reminder that no one there, or those inside the buildings, cared about the world anymore.

Birds flew overhead chirping away happily, a contradiction to the rest of the building inhabitants who still lived there. The cold steel gates blocked the entrance doors, making the complex into a massive fortress that no one was allowed to enter unless they were residents of the complex itself.

Old cars barely functioned as they sat in the parking lot, an idle reminder of an era gone by. People, both Natural and Coordinator, often stood outside the gates, looking into the fortress. Unlike the massive World Trade Center Tower One, which was open and more relaxed, the fortress of buildings was closed off and hostile to the rest of the world now.

Only one flag flew there now, and it was not a pretty sight to see. Graves of those who had tried to enter the complex littered the outside wall, scaring away many of those who wanted to change the world. Even past U.S. leaders had been scared away by the sight.

It was a sad fate that many had been unable to avoid, but one that many others tried to stay away from. The now grassy parking lots seemed like open and happy fields, but underneath that façade was the harsh reality that any who entered would be killed on sight.

The world did not care about the complex's residents as they were too worried about their own well-being. New Yorkers were only able to look on as the buildings became even more closed off, the massive steel gates becoming locked permanently to any and all visitors throughout the years, and it was still the same even now.

Even the mere idea of the residents helping the world was just a dream and legend now. There were fictional books about that, but even the writers had been called crazy for imagining such a thing happening.

But, despite the old world leader organization being neutral, there were those who were working behind the scenes to try and bring them out of hiding, and one of those was President Hilson herself…

* * *

_White House_

President Hilson looked at the document that had been brought into her office. It was the same as the day it had been signed, save for the age and the signatures at the bottom.

A smirk crossed her face. This was just as she had hoped to be. "So this is it…The document that started the world forum that existed back after World War II…" She breathed as she looked at it in the case.

She reached out and touched the glass, but not the paper itself. No, that was too old for human hands to handle. But there was a reason it was there, and she knew it all too well.

Looking at an aide, she nodded. "Go ahead. It's all yours." She said as the aide nodded and took it with the reverence of a religious object. The aide would do what was needed before it would be sent back to the Library of Congress or Fort Knox.

The president's eyes looked out at the U.S. Flag above the White House, but while she was serious, a smirk was in her mind. This plan would work out nicely if it fell into place soon…

Just then, the line opened up, revealing Vice-President Young, Prime Minister Warson, and President Gonzalez on the line.

"Ah, it's about time you got on the line." She noted as Prime Minister Warson narrowed his eyes at her.

_"What is this about?"_ He asked. Instead of answering right away, President Hilson just narrowed her eyes back at him.

"Are you two alone and are your offices sealed tight so no one can get it?"

_"Si, we are."_ President Gonzalez replied. _"As per your request. We also have two guards outside each room that we trust with our lives."_

"Good. What I am about to reveal we can't have _anyone_ finding out about…" She began as the three leaders looked at her with a serious look each…

* * *

Chapter is complete. NASA releases footage of the Junius Seven drop, and the _Minerva_ arrives at ORB. The Second Bloody Valentine had begun, and many are angered and hurt, with ZAFT on one side and the EA on the other, while NASA is caught in the middle, but with a plan that could bring a thorn into Durandal's side.

Anyway, you all know this, but I will put it anyway. Constructive criticism is appreciated as are reviews. Flames, AKA, hate-filled/spamming reviews, **_WILL_** be reported and/or deleted depending on if they are signed or not.

Anyway, read and review! ^^


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